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intljeCitpofi^ehjgorb 

COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS 
AND   SURGEONS 


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William  Henry  Wishard 


A  DOCTOR  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL 


By  His  Daughter 
ELIZABETH  MORELAND  WISHARD 


WITH  MEMORIAL  SERVICES;    HIS  HISTORICAL 

ADDRESSES  AND  PAPERS,  AND  BRIEF 

HISTORY  OF  HIS  WIFe's 

ANCESTRY 


02/ 


PRINTED   FOR  RELATIVES  AND   FRIENDS 


COPYRIGHT    1920 

By 

ELIZABETH   MORELAND  WISHARD 


The  Hollenbeck  Press  Indianapolis 


ci^tji  ^mt\) 


OF  HER  SON  IS  GRATEFULLY  AND 

AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

MY  GRANDMOTHER 

AGNES  OLIVER  WISHARD 

WHOSE  BEAUTY  OF   CHARACTER,    FAITH   AND 
COURAGE  HAVE  BEEN  MOULDING  INFLU- 
ENCES IN  THE  LIVES  OF  MANY 
WHO  NEVER  SAW  HER 


'He  was  a  man:  take  him  for  all  in  all, 
I  shall  not  look  upon  his  like  again." 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword        7 

William  Henry  Wishard 

His  Forefathers 11 

His  Youth 27 

Choosing  a  Profession 43 

His  Marriage 51 

The  Busy  Years 62 

After  Four  Score  and  Ten 91 

Memorial  Services 

Funeral  Service 126 

Memorial  Service,  Indianapolis  Medical  Society       .      .      .  144 

Memorial  Service,  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church      .      .      .  173 

What  Others  Have  Said 

An  Appreciation  by  a  Fellow  Clansman 198 

As  a  Former  Pastor  Knew  Him 204 

Editorials        208 

Historical  Addresses 
Medical  Men  and  Medical  Practice  in  the  Early  Days  of 

Indianapolis 213 

Medical  Retrospect  of  Fifty  Years 225 

Organization  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Society  and  Its 

Influence  upon  the  Profession 242 

Medical  Men  and  Medical  Progress,  Past,  Present  and  Fu- 
ture         255 

Some  Personal  Army  Experiences 269 

Reminiscences  of  the  Hopewell  Presbyterian  Church     .      .  279 

Reminiscences  of  the  Greenwood  Presbyterian  Church  .      .  285 

The  Golden  Wedding 296 

My  Mother's  Ancestry 307 

A  Revolutionary  Romance 322 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

William  Henry  Wishard Frontispiece 

Coat  of  Arms Facing  page  16 

24 
32 

40 

48 

51 

56 

70 

104 

160 

272 

288 

296 

304 

328 


His  Parents 

Military  Commission 

The  Four  Brothers 

The  Two  Sisters 

Harriet  Newell  Wishard   .... 
The  Marriage  License        .... 
Little  Mary  With  Her  Mother     .      . 
Southport  Presbyterian  Church    . 
"Type  of  the  Old  Family  Physician" 

Home  on  Furlough 

Greenwood  Presbyterian  Church 
William  Henry  Wishard    .... 
Harriet  Newell  Wishard    .... 
Relics  of  Mark  McGohon,  Jr.       .      . 


FOREWORD 

GENEROUS  and  loving  tributes  have  been  paid  to  the 
memory  of  my  father  by  those  who  honored  him  when 
he  dwelt  among  us,  and  his  character  has  been  estimated  from 
many  view-points.  His  life  was  an  open  book;  read  by  all  who 
knew  him.  In  a  nature  so  candid  and  frank  as  his,  there  w^as 
never  anything  obscure  or  hidden. 

During  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  when  the  physical  limita- 
tions of  increasing  age  denied  him  daily  contact  with  the 
world,  which  had  been  his  delight  and  opportunity  far  beyond 
the  length  of  time  usually  allotted  to  one,  it  was  my  rare  privi- 
lege to  be  his  constant  companion  and  to  witness  his  wonder- 
ful personality  revealed  in  new  and  interesting  ways,  as  can 
only  be  seen  in  the  seclusion  of  the  home :  an  experience  which 
makes  it  difficult  to  write  in  moderation. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  blind  have  an  intuition,  or  sense  of 
perception,  not  possessed  by  the  seeing,  and  often  surprise 
their  friends  by  discernments  and  revelations  that  have  gone 
by  unobserved  by  their  associates.  May  it  not  be  then  that  the 
hackneyed  phrase,  "love  is  blind,"  has  another  and  perhaps 
truer  interpretation  than  the  one  usually  applied  to  it? 
Through  the  eyes  of  love  one  can  penetrate  the  richer  depths 
of  character  and  see  evidences  of  nobility  and  goodness  in 
those  who  are  the  objects  of  affection  that  are  not  apparent  to 
the  casual  observer,  or  to  those  who  see  one  under  the  stress 
of  an  active  life. 

It  was  through  a  vision  of  love  that  I  beheld  my  father's 
daily  life  and  listened  to  his  conversation,  though  I  am  very 
certain  an  unprejudiced  witness  could  only  testify  to  the  gen- 
uineness and  sincerity  of  his  words  and  meditations,  accept- 
able, as  I  am  confident  they  were,  in  the  sight  of  Him  whom 


8  Foreword 

he  humbly  and  trustingly  followed  without  a  thought  that  any 
word  or  act  of  his  would  ever  be  deemed  worthy  of  permanent 
record.  I  would  ask  for  no  surer  evidence  of  the  power  of 
Christian  faith  to  uphold  and  sustain  than  that  which  crowned 
his  closing  days. 

Liberal  and  noble  as  were  his  public  ministrations,  they  were 
not  so  exceptional  as  the  man  himself.  Comparatively  few 
are  called  out  to  occupy  conspicuous  positions,  or  rise  to  dis- 
tinction as  heroes  or  martyrs,  but  there  is  surely  a  place  in  his- 
tory for  those  who  fill  their  allotted  places  in  the  quiet  walks 
of  life  with  credit  and  fidelity;  in  a  word  those  who  glorify 
the  commonplace,  or  as  Ruskin  has  put  it,  "The  lives  we  need 
to  have  written  for  us  are  of  the  people  whom  the  world  has 
not  thought  of — far  less  heard  of — who  are  yet  doing  most  of 
its  work,  and  of  whom  we  may  learn  how  it  can  best  be  done." 

So,  for  the  pleasure  of  kindred  and  friends,  who,  by  their 
gracious  thought  fulness,  unstintingly  added  to  the  joy  and 
peace  of  his  last  years,  and  for  the  profit  and  inspiration  of 
coming  generations,  who  may  inherit  the  priceless  legacy  of 
his  untarnished  name,  I  have  lifted  the  curtain  that  they  may 
see  him  as  he  lived  before  those  who  knew  and  loved  him  best, 
keenly  conscious  of  my  inability  to  do  justice  to  the  portrayal, 
but  with  a  desire  to  depict  that  life  in  keeping  with  the  mod- 
esty and  simplicity  that  marked  the  daily  living,  believing  that 
in  the  years  to  come  it  will  teach  its  God-fearing  lessons  of 
uprightness  and  true  living  as  it  has  in  the  past,  and  though 
"being  dead,  he  yet  speaketh". 

I  have  members  of  my  family  to  thank  who  have  assisted 
me  by  furnishing  data  and  helpful  suggestions.  I  would  ac- 
knowledge my  special  indebtedness  to  the  foresight  of  my  aunt, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Stagg  McGuire,  who,  as  the  oldest  child  in  her 
father's  family,  spent  the  first  nineteen  years  of  her  life  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  through  personal  contact  Avith  her  grand-parents 


Foreword  9 

learned  the  salient  events  in  their  history,  which  she  preserved, 
and  without  which  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to 
have  perpetuated  what  I  have  concerning  my  mother  s  ances- 
try, seeking,  as  I  have,  in  this  intimate  touch,  in  some  meas- 
ure to  reflect  the  conditions  of  life  under  which  they  and  my 
fathers  progenitors  met  life  in  the  wilderness  of  a  new  coun- 
try, whose  protection  they  sought,  and  with  intrepidity  and 
heroism  dauntlessly  overcame  the  handicap  placed  upon  them 
by  toil  and  privations  in  establishing  homes  for  themselves  and 
their  children. 

The  lives  of  my  parents  were  so  interwoven,  and  are  so  in- 
separably enshrined  in  memory,  that  it  is  impossible  to  write 
of  one  without  including  the  other.  They  were  so  harmoni- 
ously blended  in  desire  and  purpose  that  a  review  of  my  fa- 
ther's life  would  be  incomplete  with  only  a  minor  reference  to 
her  who  was  the  mainspring  of  his  happiness,  and  to  whose  in- 
fluence he  never  ceased  to  pay  homage  and  tribute. 

In  the  twilight  of  life,  the  music  of  the  wedding  bells  still 
echoed  in  his  heart,  and  the  hallowed  memories  of  more  than 
three  score  years  with  her,  in  whom  he  found  his  strongest 
human  support,  "encircled  him  as  a  rainbow"  until  they  were 
re-united  on  her  birthday,  December  ninth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  thirteen,  by  the  same  hand  that  had  sundered  their  lives 
for  more  than  eleven  years. 


There  may  be,  and  there  often  is,  indeed,  a  regard  for  ancestry  which 
nourishes  only  a  weak  pride ;  as  there  is  also  a  care  for  posterity,  which 
only  disguises  an  habitual  avarice,  or  hides  the  workings  of  a  low  and 
grovelling  vanity.  But  there  is  also  a  moral  and  philosophical  respect  for 
our  ancestors  which  elevates  the  character  and  improves  the  heart.  Next 
to  the  sense  of  religious  duty  and  moral  feeling,  I  hardly  know  what 
should  bear  tvith  stronger  obligation  on  a  liberal  and  enlightened  mind 
than  a  consciousness  of  alliance  with  excellence  which  is  departed;  and  a 
consciousness,  too,  that  in  its  acts  and  conduct,  and  even  in  its  sentiments 
and  thoughts,  it  may  be  actively  operating  on  the  happiness  of  those  who 
come  after  it. 

It  did  not  happen  to  me  to  be  born  in  a  log-cabin;  but  my  elder  broth- 
ers and  sisters  were  born  in  a  log-cabin  raised  among  the  snowdrifts  of 
New  Hampshire  at  a  period  so  early  that  when  the  smoke  first  rose  from 
its  rude  chimney  and  curled  over  the  frosen  hills  there  was  no  similar  evi- 
dence of  a  white  man's  habitatioit  between  it  and  the  settlements  on  the 
rivers  of  Canada. 

Its  remains  still  exist;  I  make  it  an  annual  visit.  I  carry  my  children  to 
it,  to  teach  them  the  hardships  endured  by  the  generations  which  have  gone 
before  them.  I  love  to  dwell  on  the  tender  recollections,  the  kindred  ties, 
the  early  affections  and  the  touching  narratives  and  incidents  which  mingle 
with  all  I  know  of  this  primitive  family  abode. 

I  weep  to  think  that  none  of  those  who  inhabited  it  are  now  among  the 
living ;  and  if  ever  I  am  ashamed  of  it,  or  if  ever  I  fail  in  affectionate  ven- 
eration for  him  who  reared  it  and  defended  it  against  savage  znolence  and 
destruction,  cherished  all  the  domestic  virtues  beneath  its  roof,  and, 
through  the  fire  and  blood  of  a  seven-years'  revolutionary  war,  shrunk 
from  no  danger,  no  toil,  no  sacrifice,  to  serve  his  country  and  to  raise  his 
children  to  a  condition  better  than  his  own,  may  my  name  and  the  name  of 
m,y  posterity  be  blotted  forever  from,  the  memory  of  mankind. 

Daniel  Webster. 


William  Henry  Wishard 


HIS  FOREFATHERS 

THE  founder  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Scottish 
family  to  which  my  father  belonged  emigrated  to  this 
country  in  1774  from  Ireland,  where  he  had  gone  from  his  na- 
tive land,  Scotland.  William  Wishard  was  born  in  1729  and 
was  descended  from  the  family  of  W^ishart  that  established  in 
Forfarshire,  Scotland,  what  is  known  as  the  House  of  Pitar- 
row.  The  name  has  been  traced  to  Robert  Guiscard,  son  of 
Tancrede  de  Hauteville,  of  Normandy,  a  warrior,  born  in 
1015,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy  years.  He  was  one  of 
nine  or  ten  brothers  who  founded  the  kingdom  of  Sicily,  and 
Sicilian  kings  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  were 
known  by  the  name  of  Guiscard.  It  is  said  he  "sacked  the  Eter- 
nal City  in  one  of  his  campaigns  and  imprisoned  the  Holy  Fa- 
ther, and  Gibbon  ascribed  to  him  and  his  family  the  honor  of 
paving  the  way  for  the  Crusaders."  Robert  was  the  first  one  of 
his  family  to  adopt  a  surname,  as  it  was  during  his  career  that 
the  practice  of  giving  surnames  came  into  use.  They  were  gen- 
erally chosen  according  to  one's  occupation,  and  a  man  would 
be  designated  as  "John,  the  smith,"  or  "WilHam,  the  weaver." 
The  Christian  name  was  the  only  one  recognized  by  law  in  the 
early  days  of  England,  and  surnames  were  merely  words  of 
description  to  identify  one  person  from  another  bearing  the 
same  Christian  name.  It  was  not  until  the  reign  of  Henry 
First  (1100-1135)  that  the  "Statute  of  Names"  was  passed 
by  parliament.  The  statute  provided  that  not  only  the  name  of 
the  individual  should  be  inserted  in  a  suit  or  indictment,  but 

11 


12  William  Henry  Wishard 

his  estate  or  degree,  his  calHng  or  business,  and  the  town  or 
district  in  which  he  resided.  By  reason  of  this  custom  and  the 
legal  requirements,  many  persons  who  had  not  chosen  sur- 
names were  known  by  their  place  of  residence  or  occupation. 
Thus  "Jsimes,  the  barber,"  became  "J^mes  Barber,"  and  "John 
of  Wessyngton"  became  "John  Wessyngton,"  or  "John  Wash- 
ington." 

Guiscard  was  a  Norman-French  adjective  meaning  shrewd 
or  cunning,  or  perhaps  better  defined  by  the  old  Scotch  ad- 
jective canny.  Literally  translated  it  means  "wise-heart,"  de- 
rived from  two  root  words,  "Guis,"  crafty  or  wise,  and  "card," 
meaning  heart.  The  Norman  "G"  was  pronounced  somewhat 
like  "W,"  and  Robert  was  known  as  Robert  Guiscard  or  Wis- 
card. 

Family  tradition  says  that  descendants  of  Robert  went  to 
England  with  William  the  Conqueror  and  for  distinguished 
services  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  1066,  received  large  grants 
of  land  in  Buckinghamshire.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  Third 
(1216-1272)  John  Wychard  is  mentioned  as  a  landowner  in 
Buckinghamshire.  Contemporary  with  him  were  Baldwin 
Wyschard  or  Wistchart  in  Shropshire ;  Nicholas  Wychard,  in 
Warwickshire ;  Hugh  Wischard  in  Essex  and  William  Wisch- 
ard  in  Bucks. 

It  was  rare  indeed  to  find  one  who  could  more  than  write 
his  name,  as  learning  was  confined  almost  exclusively  in  that 
period  to  the  priests.  Names  were  spelled  phonetically  and 
varied  according  to  the  location  in  which  the  owner  lived; 
thus  the  name  was  Anglicized  from  Guiscard  to  Wischard. 

The  first  member  of  the  family  in  Scotland  of  whom  any 
record  is  given  is  John  Wischard,  who  obtained  lands  there 
and  during  the  reign  of  Alexander  Second  (1214-1249)  was 
sherifif  of  the  Meams  of  Kincardinshire.  As  John  spelled 
his  name  according  to  the  English  fashion,  it  is  evident  that 


William  Henry  Wishard  13 

the  first  emigrant  must  have  gone  to  Scotland  shortly  before 
his  tenure  of  office.  He  was  the  father  of  William,  who,  while 
serving  as  Archdeacon  of  St.  Andrews,  was  in  1256  appointed 
Chancellor  of  Scotland  and  afterward  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Glasgow.  William  was  the  first  one  to  spell  his  name  W^ish- 
art,  the  form  that  has  ever  since  obtained  in  Scotland,  giving 
an  illustration  as  it  does,  of  an  Anglicized  Norman  name  be- 
ing Scotticized.  The  letter  "d"  is  practically  an  unknown  end- 
ing in  the  Scottish  language  and  where  that  terminal  was  used 
in  English  words  it  was  changed  to  "t." 

History  records  not  a  few  of  the  family  who  served  in  con- 
spicuous positions  in  church  and  state  in  Scotland.  When  Rob- 
ert the  Bruce  asserted  his  right  to  the  Scottish  throne  in  1306, 
Robert  Wishart,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  supplied  from  his  own 
wardrobe  the  robes  in  which  King  Robert  appeared  at  his 
coronation,  the  regalia  of  the  latter  having  been  removed  to 
London.  His  opposition  to  the  domination  of  the  English  was 
shown  when  he  used  the  timber  Edward  First  granted  for  the 
steeple  of  the  cathedral  and  out  of  it  constructed  instruments 
of  war  for  besieging  the  King's  garrison  at  his  castle;  and, 
"though  a  churchman,  he  assumed  the  coat  of  mail  and  per- 
formed military  duties  in  the  field."  His  body  rests  in  the 
crypt  of  the  Glasgow  cathedral. 

George  Wishart,  who  in  1662  became  Bishop  of  Edinburgh, 
is  buried  in  the  chapel  of  Holyrood  Palace. 

Sir  John  Wishart,  the  eldest  son  of  the  sheriff  of  the 
Meams,  was  knighted  by  Alexander  Second,  and  from  his 
brother  Adam,  who  secured  lands  in  the  county  of  Forfar, 
descended  the  House  of  Wishart  of  Logic.  Another  branch 
was  known  as  the  House  of  Brechin. 

The  "first  of  his  House  styled  of  Pitarrow"  was  Sir  John 
"the  fifth  baron  of  certain  lands  in  Kincardinshire"  and  his 
son,  Sir  John,  Second  of  Pitarrow,  in  1434,  went  in  the  suite 


14  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  Princess  Margaret  to  France,  when  she  became  the  bride 
of  the  Dauphin,  afterward  Louis  Eleventh. 

It  was  a  descendant  of  the  House  of  Pitarrow,  James,  who 
married  as  his  second  wife,  EHzabeth  Learmont  of  Fife,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  George  Wishart,  bom  in  1513,  who 
at  the  age  of  thirty-three  suffered  martyrdom.  While  a  stu- 
dent in  Germany  and  France,  whither  he  had  gone  to  pursue 
studies  to  prepare  for  the  clerical  profession,  to  which  he  had 
been  consecrated,  he  embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. For  promulgating  his  new  faith  he  was  persecuted  and 
banished  from  his  native  land,  during  which  time  he  studied 
at  Cambridge.  After  his  return  to  Scotland  he  was  tried  and 
condemned  to  imprisonment  in  the  bottle  dungeon  and  to  be 
burned  at  the  stake  in  St.  Andrews  by  the  order  of  Cardinal 
Beaton.  Wishart's  most  signal  service  and  that  which  doubt- 
less brought  the  greatest  fruition  was  as  the  teacher  of  John 
Knox.  His  biographer.  Dr.  Charles  Rogers,  says  "Though 
neither  the  first  nor  last  of  those  who  suffered,  George  Wish- 
art  rendered  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland  real 
and  important  service.  Through  his  instrumentality  John 
Knox  was  led  to  exchange  the  retired  life  of  a  private  tutor 
for  that  of  a  public  teacher  of  the  protestant  doctrines. 
Though  his  ministry  was  of  short  duration,  he  lived  at  a  time 
when  men,  who  resisted  prevailing  error,  accomplished  with- 
in a  few  months,  the  work  of  a  generation. 

"Apart  from  the  powers  of  his  public  teaching,  and  excel- 
lence of  his  private  virtues,  he,  as  a  martyr,  holds  a  place  on 
the  roll  of  the  illustrious.  He  died  to  assert  his  testimony 
against  sacerdotal  arrogance  and  priestly  corruption,  which 
are  the  curse  of  nations.  In  his  blood  the  Scottish  church  took 
root,  and  so  long  as  his  countrymen  cherish  Protestantism 
and  love  liberty,  his  memory  will  be  fragrant."  The  first  Eng- 
lish translation  of  the  confession  of  faith  of  the  churches  of 


William  Henry  Wishard  15 

Switzerland,  known  as  the  Helvetian  confession,  was  made  by 
George  Wishart. 

While  preaching  in  Dundee,  Wishart  saw  an  assassin  con- 
cealing a  knife.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  gently  chided 
him,  but  allowed  no  one  to  injure  the  man,  and  "on  the  coast 
before  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews  he  kissed  the  executioner  be- 
fore he  applied  the  torch  to  the  fagots  that  consumed  his  mor- 
tal frame". 

The  example  of  fidelity  to  faith,  so  heroically  enacted  by 
George,  the  martyr,  was  soon  followed  by  others  of  the  family 
who  asserted  their  independence  of  priestly  authority.  Two 
members  in  succeeding  years  served  as  principal  of  the  uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  while  three  are  known  to  have  been 
chosen  moderator  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Scotland.  Another  became  lord  of  the  admiralty, 
commanded  a  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  and  was  knighted  by 
Queen  Anne. 

During  the  reign  of  James  First  of  England,  who  as  James 
Sixth  of  Scotland  had  inherited  the  English  throne  in  1603 
through  his  cousin  once  removed.  Queen  Elizabeth,  an  exodus 
to  Ireland  from  Scotland  took  place.  Ireland  was  inhabited 
only  by  the  aboriginal  Irish  who  were  an  ignorant,  uncurbed 
class  of  people.  The  lands  of  Ulster  were  rich  and  fertile  and 
James  desired  to  colonize  them  with  English  and  Scottish 
people,  the  latter  to  go  from  lowlands,  as  the  highlanders  were 
then  too  near  akin  to  the  aboriginal  Irish  to  be  desirable  colon- 
ists. 

James  instituted  the  hereditary  order  of  baronetcy  between 
that  of  baron  and  knight,  and  upon  each  of  the  colonists,  com- 
monly known  as  "undertakers,"  he  conferred  the  title  of  bar- 
onet. A  large  number  of  the  colonists  were  Scotsmen.  Sir 
John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  son  of  a  half-brother  of  George, 
the  martyr,  becoming  involved  in  1615,  sold  the  estate  to  his 


16  William  Henry  Wishard 

younger  brother,  James,  and  going  to  Ireland,  became  an  un- 
dertaker for  3,000  acres  escheated  lands.  For  him  it  may- 
have  been  simpl}^  a  land  speculation,  and  he  and  his  family 
may  have  never  lived  in  Ulster,  which  was  populated  very 
largely  by  English  and  Scottish  colonists  who  intermarried  and 
for  generations  have  in  no  sense  considered  themselves  Irish. 

There  was  a  great  gulf  of  social  inequality  between  "under- 
takers" families  and  those  of  the  native  Irish,  as  there  was  a 
wide  separation  in  religious  belief  and  education.  The  de- 
scendants of  the  colonists  have  been  known  since  the  early 
days  of  Ulster  colonization  as  Ulster  Scots,  the  term  Scotch- 
Irish  in  many  instances  being  one  of  geographical  location 
rather  than  racial  distinction. 

It  was  to  that  part  of  Ireland  our  common  progenitor,  Wil- 
liam Wishart,  as  he  then  spelled  his  surname,  emigrated  from 
Scotland,  where  the  spirit  of  religious  oppression  had  not  en- 
tirely been  obliterated,  and  which  he  told  his  children  he  de- 
sired to  escape.  He  may  also  have  wished  to  become  a  land 
owner.  His  romance  with  Susannah  Lytle  (or  Little  as  the 
name  was  frequently  spelled,  Lytle  being  the  Scotch  pronun- 
ciation), a  daughter  of  a  Scottish  laird,  whose  wife  was  Lady 
Jane  Stuart,  changed  the  course  of  his  life.  Parental  opposi- 
tion made  it  desirable  for  them  to  seek  a  home  elsewhere,  and, 
following  the  lead  of  many  Ulsterites,  William  decided  to  try 
his  fortunes  in  the  new  country  across  the  sea.  One  son  who 
bore  his  father's  name  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1772,  and  with 
his  small  family  William  took  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  that 
required  six  months  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  They  landed  in 
Philadelphia  in  the  summer  of  1774  and  settled  near  that  city 
on  what  was  then  called  "The  Waters  of  Brandywine".  Wil- 
liam had  two  brothers,  Mannis,  who  came  to  this  country  and 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  and  Abram,  who  was  lost  at  sea. 
Samuel,  Annis,  the  first  daughter,  and  Jane,  were  born  while 


William  Henry  Wishard  17 

their  parents,  William  and  Susannah,  lived  near  Philadelphia. 
It  was  while  living  near  that  city  that  William  enlisted  in  the 
Revolutionary  army,  and  his  war  record  shows  that  he  served 
as  sergeant  in  Capt.  Wendel  Ivey's  company,  Col.  John  Proc- 
tor's battalion,  of  Westmoreland  county.  He  was  commis- 
sioned ensign  May  5,  1779,  in  Capt.  William  Guthrie's  com- 
pany of  Westmoreland  county  militia,  and  served  on  the 
frontier  of  western  Pennsylvania  during  that  and  the  follow- 
ing years  of  the  war.  At  its  close  he  removed  from  near  Phil- 
adelphia to  the  old  Red  Stone  Fort  in  western  Pennsylvania. 
Other  children  born  in  Pennsylvania  were  Abram,  Henry, 
Nancy,  Elizabeth,  Joseph,  Susannah,  Ellis  and  John.  It  was  in 
the  autumn  of  1794,  when  the  latter  was  an  infant,  that  his 
father,  like  many  of  the  colonists  who  had  fought  to  win 
American  independence,  caught  the  "western  fever"  and  de- 
cided to  try  his  fortune  in  the  vast  and  unknown  regions  that 
lay  south  of  the  Ohio  river.  He  built  a  flatboat  and  with  his 
family  floated  down  the  Monongahela  river  to  the  Ohio  and 
thence  to  Kentucky,  settling  near  Blue  Licks  in  what  was  then 
Bourbon  county,  but  after  the  division  of  that  county  the 
eastern  half,  in  which  he  lived,  became  Nicholas  county,  with 
Carlisle  as  the  county  seat.  In  December  of  that  year  James. 
the  youngest  son,  was  born,  but  his  mother  survived  his  birth 
only  a  few  weeks,  and  died  January  16,  1795,  age  forty-two 
years.  She  was  twenty- four  years  younger  than  her  husband, 
which  doubtless  explains  the  opposition  of  her  parents  to  her 
marriage,  and  was  described  to  her  grandchildren  as  a  large 
woman  with  marked  individuality  and  decision  of  character. 
Four  years  later  William  married  Elizabeth  Furlow  Rhodes, 
a  widow,  who  bore  him  two  sons,  Andrew  and  Robert.  He 
was  the  father  of  fifteen  children  and  died  May  31,  1814, 
when  almost  eighty-five  years  of  age,  of  apoplexy.  He  re- 
mained active  during  his  last  years  and  on  the  day  of  his 


18  William  Henry  Wishard 

death  walked  over  a  part  of  his  farm,  seemingly  with  little 
fatigue ;  returning  to  the  house  he  was  stricken  and  died  very 
soon.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  education,  who  had  read 
much  for  one  who  lived  in  the  period  he  did,  was  firm  in  his 
adherence  to  the  religious  faith  of  the  Scots  and  could  not  be 
swayed  from  his  convictions,  a  true  and  loyal  son  of  the  Cale- 
donians; a  man  of  medium  height  and  heavily  built. 

The  innate  Scotch  tendencies  have  been  shown  in  the  various 
branches  of  the  family,  widely  scattered  as  they  have  been  in 
America,  by  the  bestowal  of  ancestral  names  upon  children, 
although  they  knew  little,  if  anything  at  all,  about  their  fore- 
fathers across  the  waters. 

At  the  time  William  purchased  land  after  going  to  Kentucky 
men  known  as  "land  sharks"  were  active  using  every  opportu- 
nity to  defraud  the  pioneers  of  their  right  to  the  land  they  had 
purchased.  Through  an  error  of  the  clerk  in  transcribing  his 
name  to  the  court  records  the  last  letter  of  his  name  was 
changed  from  "t"  to  "d."  To  avoid  complications,  which 
might  have  involved  litigation,  William  is  said  to  have  signed 
his  name  to  the  legal  document  in  keeping  with  the  mistake,  in 
order  to  escape  the  clutches  of  the  rapacious  land  agents  who 
were  preying  upon  the  early  settlers.  He  thus  legalized  that 
form  of  spelling  for  himself  and  his  posterity,  which  was 
doubtless  the  only  course  he  could  pursue  and  not  subject  him- 
self to  the  technicalities  of  the  law,  which  perhaps  might  have 
resulted  in  the  loss  of  his  land.  He  spoke  with  a  broad  Scotch 
accent,  and  "t"  and  "d"  being  dentals,  they  were  easily  con- 
fused by  one  not  familiar  with  his  foreign  speech. 

The  dishonesty  of  land  agents  often  placed  the  pioneers  at 
their  mercy.  Before  purchasing  the  land  which  finally  became 
his  homestead,  William  had  contracted  for  another  tract  and 
was  about  to  close  the  deal  when  a  stranger  appeared  and 
called  him  aside,  urging  him  not  to  take  it,  explaining  that 


William  Henry  Wishard  19 

the  title  was  bad  and  that  more  than  one  purchaser  had  been 
compelled  to  forfeit  his  right  to  ownership.  So  convincingly 
did  he  state  the  situation  that  William  at  once  rejected  the 
offer  and  made  another  selection,  but  not  until  he  had  inquired 
of  the  stranger  what  had  prompted  his  intervention.  Imme- 
diately the  man  inquired  his  name,  and  on  being  told  replied 
that  he  was  sure  he  recognized  him  as  he  entered  the  ofhce  of 
the  land  agent.  Then  followed  a  review  of  events  that  was  of 
interest  to  both.  The  young  man,  whose  name  was  Myers, 
had  crossed  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  when  a  lad  with 
his  parents,  who  were  emigrating  to  Kentucky,  and  frequently 
stopped  at  the  cabins  of  the  widely-separated  settlers  when 
circumstances  did  not  demand  their  camping  out.  When  the 
Myers  family  reached  the  Wishart  cabin  in  Pennsylvania, 
their  store  of  provisions,  which  had  been  depleted  by  Indians, 
was  replenished  by  their  new-found  friends,  who  also  gave 
them  the  sheltering  care  of  their  home  while  they  and  their 
horses  rested  for  the  long  journey  before  them.  The  boy, 
now  a  young  man,  had  not  forgotten  the  benefactor  of  his 
father's  family,  and  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  reciprocate 
the  kindness  he  was  not  found  wanting.  Many  years  later, 
when  my  father  was  visiting  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  in 
Kentucky,  he  called  at  the  Myers  home,  to  find  the  son  had 
died,  and  his  mother,  a  very  aged  woman  with  her  mind  al- 
most gone,  was  sitting  on  the  floor  playing  with  the  toys  of 
her  grandchildren,  and  so  childlike  had  she  become  that  when 
the  stranger  entered  she  seemed  oblivious  to  his  presence. 
When  her  grandson,  with  whom  she  was  living,  attempted  to 
make  her  understand  who  he  was  she  gave  no  sign  of  recog- 
nition, but  when  father  recalled  the  sojourn  which  she  and 
her  family  made  at  his  grandfather's  home  in  Pennsylvania, 
so  many  years  before,  the  memories  it  recalled  aroused  her 
and  the  mental  clouds  that  enveloped  her  were  so  cleared  that 


20  William  Henry  Wishard 

with  remarkable  accuracy  she  related  the  events  of  that  jour- 
ney, but  on  other  topics  her  mind  was  a  blank. 

My  fathers  father,  John  Wishard,  was  the  twelfth  child 
of  William  and  Susannah,  and  was  bom  June  23,  1792,  near 
Old  Redstone  Fort,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  two  years  old 
when  his  parents  emigrated  to  Kentucky.  He  was  married  to 
Agnes  Henderson  Oliver,  April  18,  1815,  by  Rev.  James  Blair, 
and  for  more  than  ten  years  they  lived  near  Carlisle.  My 
grandmother  was  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  was  born  October 
1,  1792.  Her  parents,  John  and  Martha  Henderson  Oliver, 
had  come  from  Virginia,  of  which  state  they  were  both  natives. 
John  Oliver  was  an  associate  of  Daniel  Boone  and  a  farmer, 
but  possessed  of  great  mechanical  skill,  and  assisted  in  build- 
ing the  blockhouse  of  the  old  fort  at  Lexington  in  which  his 
oldest  child,  Margaret,  was  born.  At  an  early  age  my  grand- 
mother was  left  an  orphan  and  until  her  marriage  made  her 
home  with  her  sister  Margaret,  who  was  the  wife  of  her  fu- 
ture husband's  brother,  Samuel  Wishard.  The  Oliver  family 
was  of  English  descent. 

If  an  intense  and  sacred  devotion  to  a  mother's  memory  is 
an  index  of  her  personality,  Grandmother  Wishard  was  doubt- 
less all  she  was  pictured  to  be  by  her  children,  a  woman  who 
combined  rare  amiableness  with  strength  of  character  and  un- 
wavering Christian  faith,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  she  was  "a 
woman  of  unusual  equanimity,  prudence  and  economy."  It 
was  the  delight  of  her  sons  and  daughters  when  together,  or 
talking  about  her  to  their  children,  to  dwell  upon  her  gentle  in- 
fluence with  all  who  came  in  touch  with  her  and  her  consci- 
entiousness in  the  fulfilment  of  duty. 

One  of  her  sons  beautifully  delineated  her  character  in  the 
following  sketch  which  he  left  of  her,  written  in  1897:  "At 
eight  years  of  age  she  crossed  over  from  the  last  century  to 
this  one.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  she  was  married  to  a 
man  of  her  own  age  and  station.    They  had  been  lovers  from 


William  Henky  Wishaed  21 

childhood.  Her  husband  was  not  a  Christian,  though  an  up- 
right man  of  integrity.  After  ten  or  twelve  years  of  toil  they 
decided  to  migrate  to  the  new  state  of  Indiana,  and  with  their 
little  family  and  such  worldly  goods  as  they  had  accumulated, 
the  journey  through  the  wilderness  was  undertaken.  It  was 
for  many  days  through  dense  forests,  almost  without  roads, 
through  swamps  and  across  streams  swollen  with  rains,  until 
on  October  10,  1825,  they  entered  the  little  log  cabin,  ten  miles 
south  of  the  then  small  town  of  Indianapolis.  It  was  a  region 
of  immense  forests,  of  concentrated  malaria,  and  all  conceiva- 
ble frontier  discomforts.  The  largest  privation  was  the  utter 
destitution  of  religious  privileges  and  educational  advantages. 

"The  great  and  good  woman  was  the  only  praying  soul  in 
that  new  frontier  home.  There  were  only  two  or  three  more 
in  the  neighborhood  then,  and  they  were  distant  from  each 
other.  Toil  and  sickness  were  the  lot  of  those  early  settlers. 
With  the  growing  community,  the  extreme  hardships  and  the 
lack  of  gospel  privileges,  irreligion  grew  apace.  The  wife  and 
mother  quietly  endured  and  in  silent  places  prayed.  Her  fam- 
ily cares  multiplied,  toil  and  sickness  among  the  people  made 
large  demands.  They  were  met  with  a  patience,  an  endurance, 
a  heroism  that  never  was  surpassed  on  the  battlefield. 

"At  length  the  long  night  began  to  break  into  the  dawning 
day.  A  small  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in  her  own 
house.  Her  husband  stood  with  her  and  took  the  vows  of 
service  which  had  long  l3een  accepted  by  her.  Seven  children 
were  baptized.  Two  had  grown  to  adult  age  and  were  left  to 
decide  the  responsible  question  for  themselves.  Two  had  gone 
before.  It  was  a  great  day  for  that  Christian  woman.  The 
scenes  of  that  quiet  Sabbath  morning  are  very  fresh  in  mem- 
ory today.  The  beloved  old  minister  and  his  wife,  whose 
tremulous  voices  used  to  utter  the  sweet  melodies  of  old 
'Mear'  and  'Dundee,'  have  passed  away,  but  their  voices  are 
still  heard  as  we  turn  our  ear  to  the  bygones. 


22  William  Henry  Wishard 

"The  heroine  had  now  lived  to  see  her  husband  become  the 
priest  of  the  household,  walking  before  God;  she  had  lived  to 
see  nearly  all  of  her  children  in  the  kingdom;  they  have  all 
since  followed, 

"Without  learning,  she  was  educated  by  the  Great  Teacher. 
Without  the  refinement  which  high  social  position  brings,  she 
was  sufficiently  cultured  to  appear  before  the  King  of  Kings. 
Under  the  heavy  burdens  of  frontier  life  she  never  complained. 
With  much  to  awaken  anxiety  and  grieve  her  pure  soul,  she 
was  the  incarnation  of  Christian  patience.  Surrounded  by 
the  coarseness  and  trials  of  a  godless  neighborhood,  her  life 
grew  more  and  miore  beautiful.  With  the  good  cheer  of  an 
abiding  faith  she  met  all  the  crosses  and  losses  that  lay  in  her 
pathway. 

"She  was  at  length  nearing  the  end  of  her  journey.  For 
sixty  days  she  waited  for  the  scenes  beyond,  while  disease  was 
taking  down  the  tabernacle  in  which  her  lovely  soul  had  dwelt. 
In  the  calm  of  each  new  morning,  when  for  a  time  freed  from 
the  bodily  anguish  of  the  night,  she  would  listen  to  the  precious 
word  of  God  read  at  her  bedside,  then  rise  away  from  earth  on 
the  petitions  that  were  offered.  Nearing  the  end,  she  reached 
forth  her  emaciated  hand  and  asked  for  the  Book  which  had 
builded  her  life,  and  was  now  her  great  solace.  Pressing  it 
to  her  bosom,  she  exclaimed :  'Blessed  Book.'  Then  opening 
it  out,  she  spread  it  upon  her  face,  as  if  to  take  it  all  into  her 
soul.  Asked  if  she  ever  thought  of  meeting  Isaiah,  David  or 
Paul,  she  replied  with  a  radiant  smile  and  with  tears  of  joy, 
*Oh,  yes,  I  shall  see  them,'  and  she  has  seen  them  and  been 
with  them  now  almost  fifty  years.  Her  children  rise  up  and 
call  her  blessed.  Her  husband  praised  her  also.  He  once  said 
of  her  that  in  all  the  years  of  their  married  life  she  never 
spoke  an  unkind  word  to  him." 

The  writer,  my  uncle.  Rev.  S.  E.  Wishard,  D.  D.,  in  further 
describing  his  early  home,  said,  "We  heard  the  names  of  Pres- 


WiLLiA^n  Henry  Wishard  23 

byterian  ministers  in  those  days.  At  that  distance  and  unseen, 
they  were  awe-inspiring  personages.  Memory  recalls  at  least 
two  visits  in  our  neighborhood  of  these  reverend  divines.  The 
residuum  of  that  remembrance  is  today  a  grave  personage,  a 
solemn  voice,  a  long  prayer  and  white  necktie.  The  sermons 
were  undoubtedly  weighty,  but  somehow  they  did  not  touch 
the  fabric  of  the  young  life  that  had  come  to  be  impressed. 
Worst  of  all,  one  or  two  of  thuse  early  visitants  could  not 
sing.  The  hymn  was  read  and  a  pause  followed,  almost  in- 
terminable in  length,  but  no  response  came.  If  the  minister 
had  called  for  'Old  Dan  Tucker'  all  the  boys  could  have 
given  him  a  chorus.  But  he  did  not  know  that  tune,  and  we 
did  not  know  any  other,  and  consequently  the  praise  went  at 
cross-purposes." 

The  minister  whose  coming  brought  such  joy  and  comfort 
to  my  grandmother  was  the  Rev.  John  Todd,  one  of  the  early 
preachers  of  central  Indiana.  He  was  familiarly  known  as 
"Parson  Todd,"  and  has  been  described  as  one  whose  "polite- 
ness was  of  the  old  Virginia  type ;  gentle,  loving  and  earnest ; 
standing  on  the  verge  of  the  other  world."  His  influence  ever 
lingered  with  the  children  of  the  family,  reminding  them  as 
he  did  of  what  they  fancied  the  old  prophets  looked  like.  The 
church  which  he  organized  in  the  cabin  home  of  my  grandpar- 
ents was  called  Mt.  Pleasant  church,  located  one  mile  south  of 
Glenn's  Valley,  on  the  site  of  the  cemetery  that  bears  that 
name. 

The  only  time  my  grandfather,  who  was  colonel  of  the  Fif- 
ty-seventh Indiana  state  militia,  was  called  out  for  war  duty 
was  at  the  time  of  the  Indian  uprising  known  in  history  as 
the  Black  Hawk  war.  It  was  on  that  expedition  that  he  first 
saw  Chicago,  and  so  unpromising  did  it  look  to  him  that  when 
he  returned  he  said  he  would  not  have  exchanged  the  fine 
horse  he  rode  for  all  of  Fort  Dearborn. 

The  facilities   for  transportation  were  so  meager  and  the 


24  William  Henry  Wishard 

household  effects  so  Hmited  in  number  that  the  pioneers  did 
not  bring  much  with  them  to  their  new  home.  My  grandfather 
was  discussing  his  move  from  Kentucky  once  with  a  son 
when  the  latter  inquired  of  him  what  he  brought  with  him, 
and  with  a  smile  and  a  merry  twinkle  of  his  eye  he  replied : 
"A  wife  worth  her  weight  in  gold  and  five  as  worthless  chil- 
dren as  ever  afflicted  any  poor  man."  He  had  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  humor  and  enjoyed  jesting  even  at  his  own  expense. 

In  Pleasant  Valley  cemetery,  four  miles  north  of  Carlisle, 
near  the  site  of  the  old  Kentucky  home,  rest  the  bodies  of  his 
parents,  whose  graves  were  unmarked  when  my  grandfather 
left  for  Indiana.  When  circumstances  permitted  he  went  to 
Bloomington,  Ind.,  where  he  obtained  "tombstones,"  as  they 
were  then  designated,  having  also  ordered  them  for  the  graves 
of  his  wife's  parents  and  the  children  in  both  families,  and  tak- 
ing all  of  them,  eight  in  number,  he  drove  to  Kentucky,  accom- 
panied by  my  father,  then  a  lad,  and  erected  them,  where  they 
still  stand  as  monuments  to  his  filial  love  as  well  as  to  their 
memory. 

Self-reliance  and  independence  in  thought  and  action  were 
outstanding  features  in  Grandfather  Wishard's  character.  He 
was  guided  by  the  loftiest  ideals  of  honor  and  integrity,  direct 
and  straightforward  in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men. 
One  of  the  historians  of  Johnson  county,  in  writing  of  him, 
said :  "Colonel  Wishard  was  a  man  of  great  physical  vigor 
and  activity,  and  equal  mental  activity.  None  contributed 
more  to  build  up  and  make  this  new  country  than  Colonel 
Wishard.  He  was  always  on  hand  at  log  rollings  and  house 
raisings.  He  was  kindhearted  and  was  at  the  bedside  of  the 
sick  and  dying.  If  any  were  in  distress  and  needed  assistance 
they  had  only  to  make  it  known  to  receive  it." 

When  about  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  hewing  a  log  with 
a  broad-axe  that  slipped  and  struck  a  severe  blow  on  his  knee 


William  Henry  Wishard  25 

that  presaged  the  loss  of  the  leg.  The  illness  which  followed 
baffled  the  skill  of  the  local  physician  and  he  sent  for  a  noted 
surgeon  who  lived  fifty  miles  distant.  The  latter  advised  am- 
putation, for  which  preparations  were  begun,  but  the  doctors 
had  not  reckoned  with  their  patient.  He  not  only  protested, 
but  positively  refused  to  yield  to  their  decision.  The  reason  for 
his  resistance  was  given  when,  during  his  last  illness,  he  was 
relating  the  incident  to  one  of  my  brothers.  After  the  sur- 
geon made  an  examination  he  and  the  attending  physician 
withdrew.  "They  parleyed  a  while,"  he  continued,  "came 
back,  and  the  surgeon  began  to  unwrap  his  kit  and  get  a  table 
ready.  I  thought  I  knew  what  they  were  up  to,  for  I  had 
thought  the  question  all  over,  so  I  asked  them  what  they  were 
going  to  do.  They  replied  they  would  have  to  amputate  my 
leg.  I  said  to  them,  'Gentlemen,  you  will  not  take  that  leg  off 
so  long  as  I  have  one  leg  to  stand  on  and  two  hands  to  fight 
with.'  "  "Were  you  not  afraid  to  place  your  opinion  against 
that  of  the  surgeon  you  mention,  who  was  well  known  in  his 
day?"  his  listener  asked.  "Well,"  he  replied,  "I  am  eighty-six 
years  old  and  that  leg  has  served  me  a  good  purpose  and  it 
seems  after  all  these  years  that  my  opinion  was  not  far 
wrong."  Taking  his  cane  and  pointing  to  the  oil  portrait  of 
his  wife  which  hung  above  his  bed,  he  said,  in  a  tone  that  be- 
tokened the  devotion  of  his  love  and  the  pathos  of  his  feelings, 
"William,  I  was  then  engaged  to  your  grandmother,  and  how 
could  I  ask  her  to  marry  me  if  I  had  only  one  leg?"  Perhaps 
his  determination  to  achieve  the  desire  of  his  heart  had  more 
weight  in  his  decision  to  win  the  victory  without  the  aid  of 
surgery  than  the  thought  of  the  suffering,  great  as  it  would 
have  been,  for  anaesthetics  were  still  an  unknown  panacea. 

An  unusual  occurrence  at  the  funeral  of  my  grandfather 
was  the  spontaneous  tribute  of  an  old  friend,  Mr.  George 
Noble,  a  brother  of  Noah  Noble,  a  fonner  governor  of  Indi- 


26  William  Henry  Wishard 

ana,  who,  at  the  close  of  the  service,  arose.  Addressing  the 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Dunn,  who  was  in  charge,  calmly, 
but  with  evident  feeling,  he  briefly  pronounced  the  following 
eulogy  as  recalled  by  one  who  heard  it:  "Mr.  Dunn  and 
friends,  I  can  not  allow  the  occasion  to  pass  without  paying 
a  word  of  tribute  to  the  character  of  Colonel  Wishard,  who 
was  my  lifelong  friend  and  neighbor.  Today  as  I  stand  by 
his  coffin  and  realize  his  life  is  at  an  end  and  try  to  recall  my 
long  acquaintance  with  him,  I  can  truthfully  say  I  never  knew 
a  more  honest  man  nor  a  man  for  whom  I  have  greater  re- 
spect. When  he  made  a  promise  he  regarded  it  as  an  obliga- 
tion which  he  must  faithfully  fulfil.  He  was  a  plain,  straight- 
forward man.  I  knew  him  well  and  had  the  deepest  affection 
for  him,  and  on  this  solemn  occasion  I  am  only  stating  a  fact 
when  I  say  I  do  not  believe  Colonel  Wishard  ever  told  a  lie 
in  his  life."  Funerals  were  not  so  formal  then  and  memorial 
services  were  not  so  frequent  as  now  when  friends  can  speak 
in  appreciation  of  those  who  are  gone. 

My  grandmother  died  August  12,  1849,  and  her  husband 
tarried  after  her  tv*^enty-nine  years.  He  died  September  8, 
1878,  in  his  eighty-seventh  year. 

Eleven  children  were  born  to  them,  William  Henry,  Martha, 
James  Harvey,  John  Oliver,  Andrew,  Samuel  Ellis,  Joseph 
Milton,  Margaret  Ann,  Robert  Courtney,  Thomas  and  Agnes 
Jane.  The  last  three,  with  Andrew,  died  in  early  life,  and 
James  after  he  had  reached  his  thirtieth  year.  The  remaining 
six  lived  beyond  three  score  and  ten,  their  average  age  being 
eighty-six  years.  Four  of  them,  my  father,  Martha,  Samuel 
Ellis  and  Margaret  Ann,  celebrated  their  golden  weddings. 


HIS  YOUTH 

IT  was  on  his  father's  farm  near  CarHsle,  Ky.,  that  WiUiam 
Henry  Wishard  was  born,  January  17,  1816.  His  parents, 
John  Wishard  and  Agnes  Oliver  Wishard,  were  unwilling  to 
rear  their  children  amid  the  environments  of  slavery,  and,  de- 
ciding to  move  to  Indiana,  reached  their  new  home  in  the 
wilds  of  the  great  forests  the  evening  of  October  25,  1825, 
ten  miles  south  of  Indianapolis,  on  the  Bluff  road,  near 
Glenn's  Valley. 

An  uncle  of  my  father's,  Andrew  Wishard,  came  to  Indiana 
in  1823  and  entered  land;  later  several  families  moved  from 
Nicholas  county  to  Indianapolis  and  vicinity,  and  sent  back 
flattering  accounts  of  their  new  location,  both  of  which  were 
determining  factors  in  the  decision  that  led  my  grandparents 
to  emigrate  to  Indiana.  In  1824  my  grandfather  secured  the 
land  upon  which  he  settled,  and  the  following  spring  came  and 
planted  corn,  potatoes  and  other  vegetables  in  order  to  have  a 
crop  ready  for  use  when  he  would  bring  his  family  in  the  au- 
tumn. The  first  tract  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
purchased  from  Moses  F.  Glenn,  who,  in  1821,  entered  it  from 
the  government  for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre, 
but  the  increase  in  value  which  he  placed  upon  it  led  him  to 
price  it  to  my  grandfather  at  a  little  more  than  two  dollars  per 
acre.  A  year  later  the  latter  paid  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars  for  ten  acres  of  cleared  land,  and  subsequently  entered 
three  hundred  and  ninety- four  acres  of  government  land  at  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre. 

Indiana  had  "come  in  free"  when  admitted  to  the  union  the 
year  of  father's  birth.  When  it  was  a  part  of  the  French  ter- 
ritory slavery  was  granted  by  royal  decree.  Some  of  the  early 
settlers  from  the  south  had  brought  slaves  with  them,  thus 

27 


28  William  Henry  Wishard 

bringing  to  bear  influences  that  wrought  mightily  for  the  cast- 
ing of  it  in  the  column  of  slave-holding  states  when  the  mo- 
mentous question  was  settled  and  the  victory  for  freedom 
was  won  by  a  small  majority. 

The  necessities  of  a  pioneer  home,  the  labor  required  in 
building  the  log  house,  clearing  the  forests  and  preparing  the 
virgin  soil  for  cultivation,  all  tended  to  push  the  lad  into  serv- 
ice far  beyond  his  years.  The  new  home  was  typical  of  the 
times  and  fashioned  after  the  ancestral  log  cabin  of  Kentucky, 
built  in  1793  by  my  great-grandfather,  with  the  required  lad- 
der that  enabled  the  boys  of  the  family  to  "climb  to  the  loft" 
for  sleeping. 

Social,  educational  and  religious  privileges  were  few;  in- 
deed they  could  scarcely  be  said  to  exist  at  that  time,  for  the 
families  of  the  early  settlers  were  widely  scattered;  but  in 
due  time  the  pioneers  combined  their  forces  and  the  log  school- 
house  was  erected.  Subscriptions  were  taken  for  the  small 
sums  paid  the  teachers  who  "boarded  round"  among  the  fam- 
ilies, each  household  contributing  its  share  of  hospitality  in 
entertaining  the  schoolmaster  an  apportioned  time,  which  was 
an  accepted  part  of  the  salary.  The  birch  in  the  hands  of  the 
teacher  was  an  important  instrument  of  training,  and  often  the 
last  and  only  resort  in  the  inculcation  of  the  rudiments  of  an 
education. 

The  summers  toil  began  early  and  ended  late;  therefore 
three  months  in  the  winter  formed  the  period  of  time  that 
could  be  given  to  the  intellectual  development  of  the  future 
citizens,  and  the  maturing  boy,  whose  services  were  required 
in  the  field  and  elsewhere,  had  more  than  his  share  of  priva- 
tions, which  sadly  curtailed  his  opportunities  in  the  school- 
room ;  but  his  ears  were  open  and  his  mind  alert,  reaching  out 
for  greater  things. 

The  conditions  of  primitive  life  in  the  woods  of  Johnson 


William  Henry  Wishard  29 

county  were  similar  to  those  found  in  all  the  pioneer  districts 
of  the  middle  west.  The  houses  and  other  buildings  were  con- 
structed of  logs  hewed  from  timber  that  was  felled  by  the  men 
and  boys,  and  when  a  new  building  was  to  be  erected  all  the 
male  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  turned  out  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  for  the  "log-rolling"  and  subsequent  "house- 
raising." 

That  co-operative  plan  of  building,  with  the  quilting-bees, 
com-huskings,  sugar-boilings  and  wool-shearings  gave  oppor- 
tunity for  the  few  social  gatherings  that  the  isolated  house- 
holds enjoyed,  and  meant  work  for  the  women  as  well  as  the 
men,  the  former  assisting  the  hostesses  in  the  preparation  of 
the  generous  meals  that  fed  the  hungry  workmen,  who,  after 
their  appointed  task  was  finished,  still  had  sufficient  vim  and 
energy^  to  engage  in  the  sports  of  the  day,  such  as  wrestling 
matches,  pitching  horseshoes  and  other  games  that  gave  them 
pleasure.  Social  conditions  were  not  so  formal  and  artificial 
under  provincial  rule  as  they  are  today.  The  singing  schools 
were  important  social  features,  when  the  treble,  tenor  and  bass 
singers  sat  together  according  to  their  talents.  The  alto  and 
baritone  were  then  unknown  and  the  "singing  master"  had 
only  a  tuning  fork  to  aid  him  in  "striking  the  key."  When 
organs  and  melodions  came  into  use  later  they  were  rejected 
by  many  churches  as  being  instruments  of  the  world  that 
would  mar  the  sacredness  of  divine  worship.  An  old  copy  of 
the  Missouri  Harmony,  with  its  odd  square  notes,  was  a  keep- 
sake of  bygone  days  that  father  held  dear,  recalling  as  it  did 
the  pleasures  of  his  early  associations. 

Clearing  land  was  a  laborious  task  and  a  slow  one,  too,  for 
with  only  the  efforts  of  father  and  sons  it  was  not  possible  to 
clear  a  large  tract  of  land  during  the  winter  months  when 
there  was  leisure  for  such  work.  Dynamite  and  other  explo- 
sives, with  the  modem  stump-pullers,  had  not  been  heard  of 


30  William  Henry  Wishard 

as  aids  to  the  farmers.  Markets  were  few  and  found  only  in 
the  larger  centers,  so  that  the  chief  object  of  each  farmer  was 
to  provide  the  essentials  of  life  for  his  family,  all  of  which  he 
had  to  produce  himself  without  the  assistance  of  any  of  the 
implements  that  make  farming  easier  and  more  profitable  to 
the  modern  agriculturist. 

The  burdens  laid  upon  the  housewife  were  as  heavy  as  those 
borne  by  her  husband.  He  raised  the  sheep,  but  she  had  to 
card,  spin  and  weave  the  flannels  that  supplied  the  family  with 
warm  clothing  and  bedding ;  also  prepare  the  flax  for  the  loom 
that  wove  the  towels,  bed  and  table  linens,  and  all  that  was 
used  for  wearing  apparel.  The  untiring  home-maker  had  to 
cut  and  sew  all  the  clothing  that  supplied  her  family,  but  in  the 
long  ago  fashions  lasted  as  long  as  the  garments. 

Shoes  were  made  of  leather  that  was  tanned  from  the  hides 
of  cattle  raised  by  the  first  settlers.  School  boys  were  not 
supposed  to  indulge  in  the  luxur\'  of  wearing  shoes  until  the 
snow  came,  and  looked  upon  them  as  a  special  addition  to 
their  personal  outfit  that  could  only  be  worn  in  mid-winter 
and  on  certain  occasions  during  milder  seasons.  The  cost  of 
having  them  made  was  a  serious  consideration  as  well  as  the 
work  required  in  preparing  the  leather.  The  neighborhood 
shoemaker  went  from  house  to  house  to  make  the  family 
shoes. 

One  Christmas  the  boys  in  my  grandfather's  family  went 
skating  on  a  nearby  pond,  but  that  year  the  shoemaker  was 
late  with  his  work  and  did  not  get  shoes  made  for  one  of  the 
sons,  James,  before  the  holiday  season.  The  latter,  not  willing 
to  be  deprived  of  the  frolic,  accompanied  his  brothers,  and, 
barefooted,  would  run  and  slide  until  his  feet  were  so  cold  he 
would  be  compelled  to  sit  down  and  vigorously  rub  them  be- 
fore he  could  again  join  in  the  sport.  In  their  boyhood  my 
brothers  were  granted  the  pleasure  of  going  barefooted  at  their 


William  Henry  Wishard  31 

play  and  work  when  circumstances  were  favorable.  Perhaps 
it  was  the  stories  they  had  heard  of  the  cold  weather  adven- 
tures of  their  father  and  uncles  that  led  Albert  to  try  an  ex- 
periment that  only  the  mind  of  a  mischievous  boy  could  in- 
vent. When  the  family  was  ready  for  Sunday-school  one 
morning,  mother  discovered  that  he  had  taken  the  shoe  black- 
ing and  thoroughly  dyed  his  feet  and  legs,  hoping  thereby  to 
deceive  her  and  avoid  the  necessity  of  wearing  his  best  shoes 
to  church. 

The  smoke-house  was  an  important  adjunct  to  every  cabin 
home  and  in  it  the  meats  that  had  been  butchered  by  the  men 
were  cured  by  smoking;  when  fresh  meat  was  desired  a  beef, 
hog  or  sheep  would  be  killed  and  shared  with  the  neighbors, 
who  returned  the  favor  when  their  time  for  slaughtering  came. 
Wild  game  abounded  in  the  forests  and  the  rivers  were  full  of 
fish.  One  of  the  popular  ways  of  curing  pork  was  to  put  it  in 
strong  brine  and,  having  acquired  an  appetite  for  it  in  those 
days,  father  never  lost  his  fondness  for  pickled  pork. 

The  first  wedding  he  ever  attended  was  during  his  child- 
hood days  in  Indiana,  when  the  cabin  in  which  it  was  cele- 
brated was  so  crowded  with  guests  that  the  smoke-house  had 
to  be  reserved  for  the  bride's  dressing-room,  and  from  it  she 
and  the  bridegroom  emerged  for  the  ceremony.  In  the  pres- 
sure of  the  throng  father  was  pushed  to  a  unique  position  of 
advantage  where  he  had  the  opportunity  of  facing  the  bridal 
party  by  crouching  down,  and,  boylike,  peering  between  the 
legs  of  Squire  Henry  Brinton,  the  officiating  magistrate, 
whose  brief  ceremony,  reverent  as  it  was,  so  impressed  him 
that  he  could  ever  afterward  repeat  it  verbatim.  A  clergyman 
was  not  near  at  hand  and  the  services  of  a  justice  of  the 
peace  were  called  into  action;  but  with  his  inborn  love  of  the 
spiritual,  the  youthful  witness  felt  that  the  ceremony  was 
lacking  in  the  dignity  and  propriety  that  should  mark  such  an 


32  William  Henry  Wishard 

event.  He  had  thought  of  it  as  a  reHgious  rite  and  ordinance, 
and  often  wondered,  as  he  had  heard  his  parents  tell  of  their 
marriage,  what  a  wedding  would  be  like ;  hence  he  was  wildly 
excited  when  the  opportunity  came  for  him  to  see  what  had 
previously  been  such  a  mystery  to  him.  It  was  characteristic 
of  the  boy  to  reason  for  himself  and  reach  his  own  conclu- 
sions. 

Wild  fruits  and  berries  grew  in  abundance  and  supplied  the 
tables  of  the  pioneers.  I  have  heard  father  say  that  the  finest 
peaches  he  ever  ate  grew  in  the  swamps  of  White  River  near 
his  boyhood  home,  but  it  was  not  until  after  my  parents  had 
been  married  several  years  that  the  art  of  fruit  canning  came 
into  use.  A  neighbor,  who  was  a  guest  at  their  table,  was 
greatly  surprised  and  interested  when  mother  served  him 
with  peaches,  which  were  the  first  he  had  ever  eaten  that  had 
been  canned.  After  she  had  answered  his  questions  and  ex- 
plained to  him  the  process  by  which  she  had  preserved  them 
in  such  a  palatable  state,  he  eagerly  asked,  "Won't  you  put 
up  a  bar'l  of  them  for  me,  Harriet?"  The  demands  of  her 
own  household  were  too  exacting  to  permit  of  any  such 
friendly  assistance,  ready  and  glad  as  she  always  was  to  ren- 
der any  favor  within  her  power,  but  a  request  so  out  of  the 
ordinary  as  that  had  to  be  denied. 

Father's  first  trip  to  Indianapolis  was  made  the  week  after 
his  father's  family  arrived  in  Johnson  county,  and  great  was 
his  disappointment  to  find  it  little  more  than  an  overgrown 
settlement,  with  only  a  few  hundred  inhabitants.  On  the  jour- 
ney from  Kentucky  he  had  passed  through  Cincinnati,  which 
was  then  taking  on  the  proportions  of  a  good-sized  town,  and 
he  had  pictured  the  capital  of  his  adopted  state  to  be  of  like 
dimensions,  or  as  he  expressed  it,  "I  had  expected  to  see  some- 
thing fine,  which  I  have  lived  to  see,  but  which  was  not  here 
then."    His  father  was  in  need  of  hinges,  nails  and  other  ac- 


IS 

o 

U 


William  Henry  Wishard  33 

cessories  required  in  building,  and  a  neighbor  who  was  coming 
to  IndianapoHs  offered  to  act  as  father's  guide  and,  as  so  often 
proved  to  be  the  case,  the  boy  was  thus  forced  to  the  front  to 
perform  services  that  today  would  be  considered  quite  beyond 
the  capacity  of  a  child  nine  years  old. 

As  the  riders  stopped  at  Pogue's  run,  where  the  union  sta- 
tion now  stands,  father  inquired  of  his  escort  how  soon  they 
would  reach  Indianapolis,  to  which  he  replied,  "We  will  soon 
be  in  sight  of  the  town." 

In  a  newspaper  interview  he  portrayed  Indianapolis  in  its 
infancy  as  he  saw  it  that  day.  "When  we  got  to  about  where 
the  Belt  railroad  now  crosses  South  Meridian  street,  the  man 
I  was  riding  with  said  we  would  soon  reach  the  town.  It  was 
nearly  an  hour's  ride  from  there,  and  not  a  single  house  south 
of  Pogue's  run.  There  were  only  four  houses  in  Meridian 
street  between  Pogue's  run  and  Washington  street.  I  looked 
around  for  a  metropolis.  First,  there  was  a  small  frame 
house  on  the  east  side  of  the  street,  near  the  small  stream,  oc- 
cupied by  Morris  Morris,  father  of  Gen.  Thomas  A.  Morris; 
then  there  was  a  one-room  log  house  on  the  west  side  occupied 
by  Hiram  Brown,  a  lawyer.  A  log  house  on  the  east  side  was 
occupied  by  a  widow,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  and  one 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Meridian  and  Maryland  streets 
was  occupied  by  a  colored  woman  who  took  in  washing.  Fin- 
ally, there  was  a  little  log  cabin  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
Meridian  and  Washington  streets  where  the  new  Ayres  build- 
ing is  going  up.  This  was  occupied  as  a  grocery  by  Jerry  Col- 
lins, who  sold  whisky,  gingerbread  and  root  beer.  There 
was  not  another  building  in  Meridian  street  south  of  Wash- 
ington. There  were  a  good  many  stumps  standing  in  the 
street,  especially  down  toward  the  run. 

"Along  Washington  street  there  were  no  houses  on  the 
south  side  up  to  Nowland's  boarding-house,   nearly  a  half 


34  William  Henry  Wishard 

square  east  of  Meridian.  On  the  northwest  comer  of  Me- 
ridian and  Washington  streets  there  was  a  Httle  shanty  occu- 
pied as  a  doctor's  office,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  square, 
on  the  north  side  of  Washington  street,  was  Hawkins'  tavern, 
nearly  opposite  Huggins'  tavern,  which  stood  where  the  New 
York  store  is  now.  The  Circle  had  no  improvements  what- 
ever. It  was  mostly  cleared  along  Washington  street  between 
the  court  house  and  Kentucky  avenue,  with  a  few  houses  as 
far  north  as  Market  street.  I  suppose  there  were  six  or  seven 
hundred  people  here." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  had  been  neighbors  of  the  Wishard 
family  in  Kentucky  and  their  new  home  in  Indianapolis  was 
always  open  to  their  old  friends  with  the  hospitality  that  was 
a  conspicuous  feature  of  pioneer  life.  On  one  of  his  later 
trips  to  Indianapolis  father  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  from 
the  horse  he  was  riding,  while  fording  a  stream  not  far  from 
the  boundaries  of  the  village,  and  he  at  once  sought  the  kindly 
ministrations  of  Mrs.  Morris,  w^ho  gave  him  clothes  in  ex- 
change for  those  he  wore,  which  were  frozen  stiff  by  the  time 
he  reached  her  home. 

In  an  interview  published  in  the  Indianapolis  Sun,  January 
17,  1906,  the  day  father  reached  his  four  score  and  ten,  he 
stated  that  there  were  only  four  houses  between  his  father's 
house  and  Indianapolis,  a  distance  of  nine  miles.  In  telling  of 
his  new  home  when  his  father's  family  reached  it,  he  said, 
"Everything  was  wilderness  and  in  these  dense  forests  could 
be  found  bear,  panther,  wolves  and,  in  fact,  all  manner  of  wild 
beasts.  I  remember  the  first  night  we  were  there  very  dis- 
tinctly. We  were  serenaded  all  during  the  night  by  a  wolf 
chorus,  and  I  can  tell  you  it  was  not  the  most  pleasant  music 
I  ever  heard.  Many  and  many  times  we  have  gone  to  sleep  and 
waked  up  to  the  howl  of  the  wolf.  Then,  too,  the  trees  teemed 
with  birds  of  every  description.    From  the  bald  eagle  and  the 


William  Henry  Wishard  35 

hawk  down  to  the  humming-bird  they  were  all  there,  and  their 
songs  helped  to  make  the  forest  lovely  early  in  the  morning 
when  we  would  get  up  to  continue  the  work  left  over  from  the 
day  before.  *  *  *  In  those  days  there  was  but  httle  schooling 
to  be  had.  Nearly  every  one  was  compelled  to  clear  ground 
and  work  on  the  farm.  There  was  one  schoolmaster  who 
taught  both  winter  and  summer  but  the  rest  taught  for  a  few 
months  in  the  year  when  not  much  could  be  done  on  the  land. 
To  learn  the  alphabet  the  scholars  pasted  their  A  B  C's  on  a 
paddle.  Frequently  it  was  the  case  that  the  paddle  would  be 
used  by  a  family  for  years  and  years.  Little  was  taught  be- 
yond reading,  writing  and  ciphering.  In  the  southwestern 
part  of  Johnson  county  the  first  man  to  teach  was  Emanuel  G. 
Glimpse. 

"Henry  Alcorn  was  another  early  teacher.  Alcorn  was  a 
tall,  thin  man  and  was  possessed  of  a  pair  of  buckskin  breeches. 
One  day  he  came  to  school  in  the  rain,  and  as  the  breeches 
had  been  badly  tanned,  the  water  soaked  into  them.  He  sat 
and  taught  for  a  longer  time  than  usual,  but  finally  essayed 
to  get  up.  He  was  unable  to  stir.  The  leather  had  hardened 
after  the  softening  by  the  rain  and  was  like  a  board.  In  his 
sitting  position  it  had  hardened  to  fit  the  posture.  He  said, 
'Children,  bring  me  a  bucket  of  water  to  soften  these  breeches. 
I  can't  get  up.'  " 

Keenness  of  perception  and  quick  decision  were  character- 
istics that  manifested  themselves  early  in  the  life  of  the  ener- 
getic lad.  An  incident  that  occurred  when  he  was  still  in  his 
teens  illustrates  those  attributes.  Adjoining  the  land  which 
Grandfather  Wishard  had  purchased  was  another  tract  which 
he  coveted  for  his  own,  but  bank  accounts  were  not  numbered 
among  the  meager  possessions  of  pioneers.  Having  business 
reasons  for  making  a  trip  to  Kentucky,  he  told  his  family  that 
while  there  he  would  collect  money  that  was  due  him  on  the 


36  William  Henry  Wishard 

last  payment  for  the  land  he  had  sold  in  Nicholas  county  and 
on  his  return  purchase  the  land  that  would  enlarge  the  new 
farm.  The  wants  of  the  pioneers  were  few  and  in  keeping 
with  the  limited  circulation  of  coin. 

The  Bluff  road  was  the  thoroughfare  for  those  who  traveled 
northward  from  the  region  of  Martinsville  and  as  far  south 
as  Vincennes.  While  Grandfather  Wishard  never  "kept  tav- 
ern," as  many  of  the  leading  pioneers  did,  such  service  often 
being  forced  upon  them  as  the  necessities  of  the  traveling  pub- 
lic demanded  some  place  where  accommodations  could  be 
found,  his  house  was  a  convenient  stopping  place  and  one 
where  an  open  door  was  always  found.  One  cold  wintry 
evening  while  Grandfather  was  away,  two  men  knocked  at  the 
cabin  door  about  sunset  and  asked  permission  to  stay  all  night. 
They  had  journeyed  from  near  Bloomington,  Ind.,  and  after 
the  evening  meal,  when  the  family  had  gathered  round  the 
big  fireplace,  the  strangers  incidentally  told  why  they  were 
going  to  Indianapolis.  They  had  heard  of  the  forty  acres 
that  joined  the  Wishard  farm  and  the  land  office  where  they 
could  enter  it  was  their  objective  point.  The  attentive,  wide- 
aw^ake  boy  heard  all  the  conversation,  but  did  not  betray  the 
plans  of  the  head  of  the  household  for  procuring  the  same, 
though  he  was  secretly  working  out  his  own  scheme. 

After  the  guests  had  retired  for  the  night  he  and  his  mother 
held  a  conference  under  some  difficulties,  for  the  partitions 
of  the  cabin  home  were  not  conducive  to  private  interviews, 
but  unmistakable  sounds  assured  the  anxious  listeners  that  the 
ears  of  the  weary  travelers  were  closed  to  all  whisperings. 
The  mother  then  confided  her  fears  to  her  son,  who  surprised 
her  by  saying,  "I  am  going  to  Indianapolis  tonight  and  enter 
that  land  myself,"  and  further  explained  that  he  would  hasten 
over  to  Squire  Glenn's,  for  whom  Glenn's  Valley  was  named, 
an  old  Kentucky  friend,  and  ask  him  to  advance  the  money 


William  Henry  Wishaed  37 

necessary  for  the  purchase,  until  the  return  of  his  father. 
Squire  Glenn  proved  his  faith  in  the  boy  by  giving  him  the 
required  sum. 

There  was  not  much  rest  for  the  mother  and  her  self-reliant, 
dependable  son  that  night,  for  not  long  after  the  midnight 
hour  the  brave,  fearless  boy  mounted  the  family  horse  and 
started  upon  his  cold,  stormy  ride.  With  the  money  tucked 
under  his  linsey-woolsey  jacket,  his  head  and  ears  protected 
by  a  coon  skin  cap,  and  his  hands  ensconced  in  a  pair  of  mit- 
tens, knit  by  the  industrious  mother,  the  trip  could  hardly  be 
looked  upon  as  an  inviting  excursion,  but  the  welfare  of  the 
family  and  their  future  interests  were  not  to  be  overlooked 
and  neglected  when  courage  and  endurance  could  be  com- 
manded as  they  were  in  William  Henry,  the  full  name  by 
which  his  mother  always  lovingly  called  him.  The  Bluff  road 
which  he  traversed  v/as  little  more  than  a  path  through  the 
woods,  with  mud  and  numberless  stumps  to  be  encountered. 
The  Three  Notch  road,  running  parallel  with  it,  received  its 
name  from  the  notches  that  were  made  in  the  trees  to  desig- 
nate the  path  to  be  followed. 

Indianapolis  was  reached  before  daylight,  but  there  was  no 
fire  where  the  cold,  hungry  boy  could  warm  himself;  instead 
he  had  to  walk  the  streets,  slapping  his  hands  to  excite  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood,  and  await  the  arrival  of  the  land  agent 
at  his  office,  to  which  an  early  riser  in  the  village  had  directed 
the  prospective  landholder.  When  the  agent  reported  for  duty 
the  deal  was  quickly  consummated  and,  with  the  papers  prov- 
ing his  right  of  ownership,  the  boy  started  for  home.  At  the 
threshold  of  the  office  he  passed  the  men  whose  plans  he  had  so 
cleverly  frustrated.  They  gave  him  a  look  of  recognition,  but 
he  hastened  on  without  an  explanation  as  to  his  presence  in 
the  capital  at  that  unseemly  hour.  Great  was  the  rejoicing 
when  he  reached  home,  and  the  mother  and  younger  children 


38  William  Henry  Wishard 

gathered  around  him  to  hear  the  recital  of  his  hurried  ride 
and  examine  the  warrant  for  the  land  which  had  been  made 
out  in  his  name  and  later  transferred  by  deed  to  his  father. 

After  hearing  the  story  of  that  heroic  midnight  ride,  as  told 
by  different  members  of  the  family  which  benefited  there- 
by, I  could  better  understand  why  my  parents  had  per- 
mitted one  of  their  boys  to  go  six  miles  on  horseback  for  the 
mail  one  summer  when  the  scarcity  of  help  on  the  farm  upon 
which  the  family  was  then  living  demanded  the  services  of 
children  as  well  as  men,  owing  to  the  heavy  draught  upon  la- 
bor made  by  the  civil  war.  Three  months  before  he  was  five 
years  old,  my  brother  George  began  making  the  daily  trip,  and 
when  for  any  reason  he  had  occasion  to  alight  or  slipped  off 
the  back  of  old  Dragon,  the  trusty  family  horse,  he  would  have 
to  lead  bim  until  he  met  some  one  who  could  assist  him  in 
mounting. 

Father's  earliest  remembrance  of  his  native  place  in  Ken- 
tucky was  associated  with  an  accident  which  might  have  ended 
disastrously  for  him  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  appearance 
of  his  mother.  His  father's  home  was  located  near  the  hilltops 
that  overlook  Licking  river,  a  stream  that  is  fed  by  springs 
that  abound  in  that  region.  From  one  of  the  springs  came  the 
drinking  water  which  supplied  the  family,  and,  prompted  by 
a  child's  desire  for  investigation,  the  toddling  feet  followed 
the  path  that  led  to  the  favorite  spring;  when  his  mother,  con- 
cerned by  his  absence,  started  out  to  find  the  youngster,  she 
discovered  he  had  fallen  into  the  pool  of  water  and  was  unable 
to  extricate  himself  from  his  perilous  situation. 

It  was  on  the  moving  journey  from  Kentucky  to  Indiana 
when  he  met  with  his  first  loss,  one  that  to  his  childish  mind 
was  no  trifling  affair,  and  which  made  a  lasting  impression 
upon  his  mind,  for  it  meant  parting  with  what  he  considered 
his  first  valuable  possession,  a  horn.    The  night  before  reach- 


William  Henry  Wishard  39 

ing  the  new  home  in  Johnson  county  the  family  camped  east 
of  the  Three  Notch  road  about  one  mile  south  of  where  Fair- 
view  M.  E.  church  is  now  located.  After  going  a  considerable 
distance  on  the  last  day's  travel,  the  forgotten  horn  was 
missed;  the  wagons  were  then  stopped  and  their  occupants 
waited  while  the  sympathetic  father  went  back  with  his  sor- 
rowing boy  to  find  the  lost  treasure,  only  to  discover  that 
some  passerby  had  appropriated  it  to  his  own  use,  and  it  was 
never  restored  to  its  rightful  owner. 

The  boys  and  girls  of  that  time  were  not  showered  with 
toys  and  gifts  to  the  prodigal  extent  children  are  today,  when, 
too  often,  the  latter  are  so  surfeited  with  them  that  their  sense 
of  appreciation  is  dulled  and  what  was  intended  to  give  them 
pleasure  becomes  a  bore.  The  simplicity  of  their  surround- 
ings, and  the  mode  of  life  under  which  pioneer  children  grew 
up,  gave  them  a  full  appreciation  of  their  few  possessions  and 
privileges  for  recreation  and  diversion,  but  they  were  char- 
acter building  days  for  the  boys  and  girls. 

The  first  patent  for  matches  in  the  United  States  was  not 
granted  until  1836,  hence  they  were  not  included  in  the  house- 
hold equipment  of  the  Wishard  family  when  it  reached  the 
site  of  the  new  home,  and  not  being  near  any  neighbor  from 
whom  they  could  secure  coals,  they  had  to  "strike  the  flint" 
that  lighted  their  first  camp  fire  in  Johnson  county.  Previous 
to  the  invention  of  matches  a  hard  variety  of  quartz,  known 
as  flint,  was  used  for  producing  fire.  The  flint  was  struck  re- 
peatedly against  a  piece  of  steel  and  small  sparks  of  fire  pro- 
duced by  the  friction.  As  these  atoms  were  emitted  they 
would  fall  into  a  very  dry  mass  commonly  called  "tinder,"  an 
inflammable  kindling  which  would  instantly  ignite.  The  fire- 
place furnished  the  cooking  facilities  for  each  family,  which 
made  it  easy  to  keep  a  bed  of  coals  on  hand  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year  and  when  the  fire  completely  died  out,  as  it  sometimes 


40  William  Henry  Wishard 

did  in  the  summer,  the  nearest  neighbor  was  called  upon  for 
a  helping  of  coals  to  start  another.  When  coals  were  not  ob- 
tainable, recourse  was  made  to  the  flint. 

The  duty  of  going  to  mill  was  a  service  that  often  fell  to 
the  lot  of  the  eldest  son.  Sometimes  it  meant  a  trip  to  the 
mills  at  Indianapolis;  again  the  distance  was  greater,  when  he 
would  go  to  one  located  near  where  Shelbyville  now  stands,  as 
he  occasionally  had  to  do.  Two  days  were  required  for  the 
trip  of  thirty  miles,  with  the  privilege  of  sleeping  on  the  sacks 
of  grain  at  night  and  taking  his  own  basket  of  provisions.  At 
one  time  the  corn  meal  was  not  ground  until  late  in  the  after- 
noon, which  required  riding  part  of  the  night  through  the 
dense  forest  that  was  infested  with  wolves.  On  that  par- 
ticular night  the  lone  rider,  then  a  boy  of  twelve^  years,  found 
it  necessary  to  tie  the  halter  strap  by  which  he  was  leading  an 
extra  horse  that  had  been  taken  to  carry  a  part  of  the  com, 
securely  fasten  the  meal  bags  that  they  might  not  become  dis- 
placed, and  allow  the  horse  to  find  its  own  way  home.  While 
he  rode  rapidly  through  the  woods  he  was  closely  followed  by 
a  pack  of  wolves,  which  he  said  at  times  seemed  almost  to  over- 
take him,  but  he  reached  home  unharmed  and  found  his  mother, 
uneasy  for  his  safety,  sitting  up  watching  for  his  return.  It 
was  not  until  some  time  after  that  experience  that  he  told  his 
mother  about  it,  fearing  she  would  forbid  him  going  to  the 
mill  alone,  a  pleasure  he  did  not  wish  to  be  denied.  The  gift 
of  initiative  always  enabled  the  boy,  inured  by  toil  and  expo- 
sure, to  devise  some  plan  that  would  surmount  the  obstacles 
that  faced  him.  He  waited  not  for  uncommon  opportu- 
nities or  events,  but  improved  every  chance  that  came  his  way. 

One  of  the  mementoes  of  his  childhood  which  father  treas- 
ured throughout  life  was  a  letter  written  to  him  and  his  eldest 
sister  by  "Parson  Todd"  in  a  neat,  clear  penmanship  that  not 
only  expressed  his  scholarly  attainments,  but  is  interesting  as 


Joseph  Miltox  Wishard  John  Olivf.r  W'ishard 

Samuel  Ki.lis  W'ishard  William  Hknkv  Wisiiakp 


William  Henry  Wishard  41 

showing  how  faithfully  the  ministers  of  that  period  sought  to 
instruct  and  indoctrinate  the  youth  in  the  fundamentals  of 
behef  and  practice  in  the  Christian  life.  After  laying  before 
them  very  plainly  their  privilege  in  uniting  with  the  church,  he 
adds,  "There  can  be  no  discharge  from  the  obligation.  God 
has  laid  it  upon  you.  We  have  no  command  to  bring  you  for- 
cibly into  the  church,  but  we  would  be  guilty  not  to  press  this 
law  of  God  upon  you.  If  we  faithfully  discharge  our  duty 
here  we  shall  deliver  our  own  souls;  but  if  you  refuse,  the 
guilt  of  rejection  will  be  yours.  When  persons  act  on  their 
own  responsibility  in  coming  under  the  bonds  of  the  covenant 
it  is  not  necessary  that  they  should  tarry  until  they  shall  have 
become  adepts  in  Christian  doctrine,  but  as  soon  as  they  shall 
have  enjoyed  such  means  of  instruction  as  to  believe  the  Scrip- 
tures to  be  a  divine  revelation,  themselves  to  be  sinners,  liable 
to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  divine  justice  for  their  sins,  and  that 
they  are  invited  and  commanded  to  come  to  Christ,  through 
whom  alone  they  can  be  saved ;  when  they  know  this  and  are 
sincerely  willing  to  forsake  sin  and  take  Christ's  yoke  upon 
them,  they  may  come  with  assurance  of  acceptance,  and  they 
must  not  refuse,  as  they  can  not  without  great  guilt.  A  per- 
son may  be  a  believer,  when  he  knows  as  yet  but  the  elements 
of  Christian  doctrine.  These  things  I  submit  to  your  serious 
examination.  I  hope  you  will  ask  divine  counsel  and  act 
agreeably  to  what  you  may  consider  your  duty.  May  the 
Lord  direct  you.  You  will  receive  this  as  tendered  from  a 
sense  of  duty  and  with  the  sincerest  regards  to  your  interest 
in  time  and  eternity." 

The  itinerant  preacher  was  the  only  one  who  ministered  to 
the  first  settlers.  When  one  was  coming  into  the  neighbor- 
hood, messages  were  sent  broadcast  and  people  would  walk  or 
ride  horseback  long  distances  to  the  cabin  which  was  opened 
for  the  service.    In  the  warm  weather  open  air  meetings  were 


42  William  Henry  Wishard 

held  in  groves  which  had  been  partly  cleared ;  the  families  took 
their  dinners  and  a  sermon  was  given  in  the  morning  and  an- 
other in  the  afternoon.  Some  of  the  preachers  are  said  to 
have  discoursed  from  two  to  three  hours  twice  a  day,  but  that 
was  not  a  weekly  event  in  each  neighborhood. 

The  "circuit  riders,"  as  many  of  the  preachers  were  called, 
would  often  find  other  duties  than  proclaiming  the  gospel 
awaiting  them.  Expectant  lovers  were  longing  for  the  mar- 
riage ceremony  and  sermons  were  to  be  preached  for  those 
who  had  died  when  a  minister  was  not  at  hand  to  give  the 
comforting  word  to  the  bereaved.  A  beloved  pastor  from  an- 
other state  was  sometimes  sent  for  to  "preach  the  funeral"  of 
a  dear  one,  long  after  the  burial  had  occurred.  Dr.  Thomas 
Cleland  once  came  to  render  such  service  at  the  Hopewell 
church  to  the  memory  of  one  who  had  belonged  to  his  church 
in  Kentucky.  It  sometimes  happened,  when  a  long  time 
elapsed  between  the  visits  of  the  itinerant  preachers,  that  the 
successor  of  a  lost  husband  or  wife  was  privileged  to  listen 
as  the  virtues  of  the  predecessor  were  extolled. 

Customs  were  the  outgrowth  of  conditions  and  must  be  con- 
templated from  that  standpoint.  A  newcomer  in  Indianapolis 
in  that  day,  Mr.  Calvin  Fletcher,  wrote  to  his  home  in  the  east 
that  he  had  found  in  Indiana  "a  much  more  enlightened  set  of 
people  than  any  other  I  have  seen  in  a  western  country." 


CHOOSING  A  PROFESSION 

WHEN  the  inspiration  for  a  life  calling  came  and  took 
definite  shape,  father  realized  that  the  time  had  not 
come  for  him  to  announce  his  decision;  but  he  steadfastly 
worked  on,  faithful  to  his  parents  and  the  duties  that  devolved 
upon  him  as  the  oldest  son  in  a  growing  family,  meanwhile 
secretly  cherishing  his  ambition. 

The  misfortunes  of  an  old  doctor  called  his  attention  to  the 
value  and  possibilities  of  the  medical  profession.  The  neigh- 
borhood physician  had  been  brought  to  penury  by  a  series  of 
calamities  and  found  himself  financially  unable  to  procure 
medicines  and  thereby  continue  his  profession.  One  day  while 
plowing  in  the  field.  Grandfather  Wishard  was  accosted  by 
Doctor  Rust,  who  requested  him  to  buy  the  medicines  he 
needed.  Grandfather's  generosity  was  proverbial,  and  those 
who  knew  him  can  readily  understand  why  the  doctor  chose 
him  as  the  one  to  whom  he  could  go  for  assistance.  He  was 
an  "easy  mark"  when  it  came  to  extending  favors,  and  that 
one,  like  many  others,  was  cheerfully  granted.  At  the  end  of 
the  season  the  note  was  paid.  Doctor  Rust  had  provided  him- 
self with  additional  drugs  and  saved  several  hundred  dollars, 
if  not  a  proportionate  number  of  lives. 

Father  was  a  silent  listener  to  that  suggestive  dialogue  be- 
tween his  father  and  the  suppliant  who  had  gone  to  him  in  his 
hour  of  great  need.  In  view  of  the  doctor's  experience  and  the 
substantial  results  of  his  efforts,  he  reasoned  that  capital  in- 
vested in  one's  brain  was  the  safest  and  most  profitable,  and 
could  be  turned  to  good  account  when  other  resources  failed. 
His  resolve  that  when  he  became  master  of  himself  he  would 
study  medicine  was  characteristic  of  his  philosophy  of  life. 
He  was  never  satisfied  with  the  present;  always  reaching  out 

43 


44  William  Henry  Wishard 

for  something  better,  but  with  a  deep  respect  and  affectionate 
veneration  for  the  past  and  its  sacred  associations. 

When,  to  him,  the  momentous  time  arrived  that  he  should 
make  known  his  conviction  to  become  a  physician,  he  made 
bold  to  announce  his  purpose  to  his  father.  One  of  my  uncles, 
referring  to  the  surprise  his  father  manifested  when  the  news 
of  father's  decision  was  imparted  to  him,  jocularly  remarked 
that  "if  he  had  proposed  to  enter  an  airship  for  a  voyage  to  the 
moon,  his  proposition  would  have  been  received  with  hardly 
less  credulity."  In  Grandfather  Wishard's  estimation  it  was 
the  wild  dream  of  a  visionary  youth.  He  and  all  of  his  broth- 
ers had  been  tillers  of  the  soil,  the  calling  that  offered  them 
the  greatest  possibilities,  and  about  the  only  means  of  liveli- 
hood open  to  the  pioneers  who  blazed  the  way  for  an  increas- 
ing population,  and  he  thought  to  give  up  farming  for  a  new 
and  untried  arena  was  deserting  a  certainty  for  an  uncertainty, 
and  a  good  farmer  would  be  spoiled  to  make  a  poor  doctor. 
It  would  also  mean  the  loss  of  a  vigorous,  stalwart  young 
man  from  the  laboring  interests  of  the  farm,  and  the  risk  was 
too  hazardous. 

It  was  a  bold  and  fearless  spirit  that  had  the  temerity  to 
break  away  from  the  traditions  of  his  immediate  forefathers 
and  strike  out  for  himself,  which  also  meant  facing  the  de- 
rision of  his  companions,  which  met  him  at  every  turn,  after 
his  vaulting  ambition  had  become  known;  but  with  courage 
undaunted  he  heroically  persevered  and  would  not  be  turned 
aside  from  the  course  toward  which  he  had  set  his  face.  He 
heard  the  inner  voice  calling  him  to  a  wider  scope  of  action 
and  he  followed  it.  The  law  of  heredity  had  asserted  itself, 
for  numbered  among  his  ancestry  in  Scotland  were  those  who 
had  filled  positions  of  honor  in  various  professions. 

Without  a  college  training,  or  even  the  equivalent  of  a  high 
school  education,  with  the  jeers  of  his  young  friends,  and  the 


William  Henry  Wishard  45 

pronounced  judgment  of  his  father  leveled  against  his  own,  he 
did  not  falter,  but  rather  was  incited  with  greater  determina- 
tion to  prove  that  he  was  no  idle  dreamer.  Dr.  A.  W.  Bray- 
ton,  in  writing  of  father,  once  said,  "He  never  went  to  school 
outside  of  a  log  schoolhouse.  He  had  for  teachers  only  a  good 
father  and  mother,  a  backwoods  farm  and  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture." 

The  blessing  of  an  analytical  mind,  despite  the  handicap 
placed  upon  him  by  limited  opportunities  for  an  education, 
proved  to  be  his  guiding  star.  He  had  a  deep-seated  longing 
to  make  the  most  of  his  life,  to  which  he  held  with  tenacity 
that  would  not  brook  defeat. 

It  was  not  until  father  had  passed  his  twenty-second  birth- 
day that  his  long-cherished  aspirations  crystallized,  and  he 
was  finally  launched  toward  the  medical  goal.  He  remained 
on  the  farm  giving  his  father  the  benefit  of  his  services  a  year 
after  he  was  legally  at  liberty  to  follow  his  own  inclinations, 
and  during  that  time  served  as  a  day  laborer  on  the  canal, 
that  was  in  process  of  construction  nearby,  and  gave  his  wages 
to  his  father  to  aid  in  the  support  of  a  large  family,  a  train- 
ing school  for  future  strength  and  power.  His  sense  of  duty 
and  obligation  was  early  manifested,  when  he  exemplified  the 
axiom  that  "no  man  liveth  unto  himself."  Whatever  blessings 
came  to  him  he  wanted  to  share  with  others.  When  he  with- 
drew from  the  parental  roof  his  interest  in  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  household  suffered  no  abatement.  In  later  years 
a  brother,  writing  of  his  own  preparation  for  life,  said,  "From 
the  lips  of  the  elder  brother  came  the  suggestion  of  the  work 
of  the  ministry." 

It  was  February  28,  1838,  that  father  entered  the  office  of 
Dr.  Benjamin  S.  Noble,  of  Greenwood,  as  a  student  of  medi- 
cine. Though  not  a  graduate  of  a  medical  college,  Doctor 
Noble,  who  was  a  brother  of  ex-Governor  Noble  of  Indiana, 


46  William  Henry  Wishard 

had  attended  a  course  of  lectures  at  Cincinnati,  and  was  a  man 
of  practical  judgment,  with  a  library,  somewhat  limited,  but 
fairly  standard  for  the  times.  Very  few  of  the  physicians  of 
that  day  were  graduates  in  medicine,  particularly  those  living 
in  the  country,  and  some  never  had  the  advantages  of  even  one 
course  of  study  in  a  medical  college.  In  describing  the  cir- 
cumstances and  restrictions  under  which  he  commenced  his 
professional  studies,  father  once  said :  "When  I  began  the 
study  of  medicine  I  did  not  have  a  luxurious  library  to  work 
in,  with  its  easy  chairs,  brilliant  lights,  and  its  walls  lined  with 
well-filled  book  cases.  I  did  most  of  my  reading  in  the  woods, 
and  my  studies  did  not  include  a  very  large  number  of  books. 
They  consisted  of  Thompson's  Practice  of  Medicine,  Chap- 
man's Therapeutics,  Chashaw's  Physiology,  Dewees  on  Obstet- 
rics and  Diseases  of  Children,  Pancoast-Wistar's  Anatomy 
and  a  work  on  chemistry,  all  of  which  were  my  preceptor's 
books.  I  later  purchased  Eberly's  Practice,  his  Materia  Medica 
and  his  book  on  Diseases  of  Children."  The  difficulties  he  en- 
countered in  securing  a  skeleton,  whereby  he  could  better  pur- 
sue his  studies  in  anatomy,  a  venture  which  almost  brought 
him  within  the  grip  of  the  law,  are  humorously  described  in 
his  paper,  "Medical  Retrospect  of  Fifty  Years,"  read  at  the 
fortieth  anniversary  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Society. 

Doctor  Noble  had  an  extensive  practice  with  no  competi- 
tion at  close  range.  The  nearest  physicians  were  at  Franklin 
on  the  south,  Mooresville  on  the  west,  Indianapolis  on  the 
north  and  Shelby ville  on  the  east.  With  such  a  wide  profes- 
sional region  to  cover  it  was  not  strange  that  after  a  year  of 
diligent  study  he  had  his  office  student  accompany  him,  when 
making  calls,  in  order  to  observe  his  diagnoses  and  treatment 
of  patients.  In  critical  cases  father  was  frequently  left  to  care 
for  them  and  thus  he  was  of  necessity  pushed  to  positions  of 
responsibility.      Combining   his    intelligent   observation   with 


William  Heney  Wishaed  47 

careful  study,  his  progress  was  rapid,  despite  the  barriers  that 
confronted  him  when  he  began  his  professional  career.  He 
possessed  qualities  that  could  overcome  such  limitations.  His 
indomitable  will  would  not  surrender  to  discouragement,  and 
his  splendid,  robust  constitution  could  endure  the  exposure 
and  fatigue  that  were  then  an  inseparable  part  of  the  life  of 
a  country  doctor.  Though  intellectually  untutored,  he  pos- 
sessed the  ability  to  master  his  work,  and  his  natural  aptitude 
in  grasping  scientific  facts,  and  their  application,  gave  stimulus 
to  his  unyielding  resolution. 

Father  lived  in  Doctor  Noble's  home  while  under  his  pre- 
ceptorship  and  always  retained  a  deep  affection  for  him  and 
his  family.  For  the  privileges  and  comforts  he  received  as 
a  member  of  the  family  he  paid  one  hundred  dollars  in  addi- 
tion to  duties  he  performed  in  assisting  his  instructor.  He 
ever  gratefully  remembered  the  friends  who  assisted  him  in 
his  early  struggles,  and  rejoiced  that  his  father  soon  acknowl- 
edged the  wisdom  of  his  choice  and  encouraged  him  in  his  ef- 
forts to  accomplish  the  end  toward  which  he  was  steadfastly 
working. 

The  method  by  which  he  combined  the  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical in  his  student  days,  he  explained  as  follows:  "The  sec- 
ond year  I  began  riding  with  my  preceptor  and  would  go  with 
him  three  or  four  days  in  the  week,  very  often  in  the  night, 
too,  and  see  him  make  the  physical  examination  in  the  differ- 
ent cases.  When  we  left  the  house  of  each  patient  I  would 
quiz  him  as  to  what  he  called  the  disease,  what  the  patholog- 
ical condition  was,  and  what  he  expected  to  accomplish  through 
the  remedies  he  had  prescribed,  and  he  would  explain  to  me  in 
detail.  On  one  of  these  trips  we  would  visit  perhaps  a  half- 
dozen  patients,  and  then  I  would  spend  the  following  day  read- 
ing alx)ut  the  diseases  of  the  patients  I  had  seen,  and  when  I 
found  Doctor  Noble  had  varied  from  the  teaching  of  the  text- 


48  William  Henry  Wishard 

books,  in  the  medicines  he  had  prescribed,  I  would  ask  him 
his  reasons  for  doing  so  and  would  quote  the  authorities  to 
him.  He  would  then  explain  some  physical  weakness  or  idio- 
syncracy  of  that  patient  and  why  he  had  to  vary  the  treat- 
ment advised  in  the  textbooks.  Doctor  Noble  was  a  very  busy 
man  and  great  demands  were  made  upon  him.  In  cases  not 
critically  ill  he  would  send  me,  after  he  had  made  the  first 
visit,  with  such  medicines  as  he  thought  necessary.  The  last 
winter  I  was  his  student  he  became  afflicted  with  rheumatism, 
and  under  his  direction  I  practiced  a  good  deal.  I  would  visit 
the  patients  and  report  their  condition  to  him  and  he  in- 
structed me  how  to  treat  them,  so  that  I  was  really  in  practice 
four  months  before  I  went  into  partnership  with  him." 

Recognizing  the  progress  his  student  had  made.  Doctor 
Noble,  after  two  years'  study,  offered  him  a  partnership,  agree- 
ing to  furnish  the  medicines  and  give  him  one-third  of  the 
total  of  their  united  labors,  which  the  junior  member  consid- 
ered a  liberal  arrangement.  Accepting  the  proposition,  father 
launched  forth  as  a  physician  April  22,  1840,  when  his  name 
was  announced  as  a  doctor  of  medicine,  a  title  he  bore  with 
honor,  fidelity  and  unselfish  loyalty  for  more  than  seventy- 
tihree  years,  though  it  was  several  years  before  the  way  opened 
for  him  to  attend  a  medical  college. 

Circumstances  were  soon  to  bring  a  change  that  would  have 
an  important  bearing  on  his  future.  The  territory  covered  by 
the  new  firm  M^as  expanding  and  it  was  decided  that  father 
should  remove  to  a  village  known  as  The  Bluffs,  near  White 
river  in  Morgan  county,  ten  miles  southwest  of  Greenwood, 
in  order  more  evenly  to  distribute  their  services,  though  he 
hesitated  to  go  alone  so  far  from  his  partner  and  assume  pro- 
fessional cares  without  his  oversight;  but,  with  many  appre- 
hensions and  misgivings,  he  established  himself  in  the  hamlet 
which  overlooked  White  river,  July  10,  1840.    Just  below  the 


William  Heney  Wishaed  49 

site  of  that  small  village,  which  has  all  but  disappeared  from 
the  map,  lay  rich  valley  lands,  fertilized  by  decaying  vegetation 
that  in  those  days,  before  ditching  carried  away  the  stagnant 
water,  proved  fertile  soil  for  the  production  of  malaria  germs, 
which  were  wafted,  through  the  mosquitoes,  to  the  inhabitants 
far  and  near. 

Hence,  the  young  doctor  found  himself  a  busy  man  from 
the  first  day  he  established  an  office  by  himself  without  having 
to  go  through  that  agonizing  period  of  waiting  for  patients, 
which  is  so  often  the  dread  of  the  young  physician  as  he  an- 
nounces to  the  public  that  he  is  ready  to  relieve  the  aches  and 
pains  of  those  who  will  trust  their  lives  in  his  hands.  When 
recalling  the  incidents  of  those  first  engrossing  weeks  and 
months  at  The  Bluffs,  his  face  would  brighten  with  a  smile  as 
if  he  still  felt  the  thrilling  sensations  of  relief  that  were  his 
when  he  realized  that  he  had  made  no  mistake  in  his  dash  into 
the  professional  world,  and  that  there  was  one  place,  at  least, 
where  his  ministrations  were  needed.  He,  too,  fell  a  victim 
to  the  malaria  that  was  prostrating  so  many,  and  frequently 
traveled  day  and  night  when  he  should  have  been  in  bed,  the 
object  of  attentions  he  was  bestowing  upon  others. 

Returning  home  one  evening  exhausted  and  in  the  throes 
of  a  hard  chill,  he  went  to  bed,  too  sick  to  continue  on  his 
rounds.  Early  the  next  morning  he  heard  a  voice  inquiring 
for  him,  and  recognized  it  as  that  of  Captain  Richey,  whom  he 
had  known  in  Kentucky.  He  listened  to  the  message  given  to 
him,  to  the  effect  that  the  doctor  was  not  able  to  go  and  see 
his  son,  about  whom  the  father  was  much  concerned.  Duty 
always  triumphed  over  feelings  with  father,  and  from  his 
standpoint  duty  to  himself  was  the  last  consideration. 

Against  the  protests  of  all  about  him.  even  the  messenger 
who  had  come  for  him,  he  arose  and  insisted  upon  going  to  see 
the  sick  boy,  although  he  was  so  weak  he  had  to  be  supported 


50  William  Hexry  Wishaed 

as  he  stepped  on  a  chair  to  mount  his  horse,  a  very  different 
process  from  his  usual  manner  of  quickly  springing  on  to  the 
back  of  the  animal  and  galloping  off. 

Appreciating  the  sacrifice  that  had  been  made  for  his  son, 
the  good  friend  of  his  boyhood  walked  by  fathers  side,  lead- 
ing the  horse  of  the  friend  who  did  not  fail  him  when  he  was 
needed.  When  Captain  Richey's  home  was  reached  he  let 
down  the  bars  of  the  fence  and  led  the  horse  that  carried  the 
sick  rider  up  to  the  door.  Before  the  patient  was  examined 
the  doctor  had  to  lie  down  and  rest  from  the  weariness  and 
exhaustion  of  his  ride.  A  number  of  times  during  the  distress- 
ing epidemic  of  malaria  which  he  encountered  the  first  year  of 
his  practice,  father  would  get  down  from  his  horse  and  lie  on 
the  wet  ground  under  the  trees  to  "cool  off"  from  the  fever  that 
followed  the  chills.  At  other  times  he  would  ride  in  the  hard 
rain,  grateful  for  the  feeling  of  comfort  and  relief  it  brought 
to  him.  During  another  epidemic,  that  covered  a  period  of 
three  months  or  more,  he  had  the  opportunity  of  remaining 
in  bed  but  one  night.  His  only  rest  would  come  when  he 
would  go  home  to  exchange  his  tired  horse  for  another  and  lie 
down  for  a  brief  nap.  He  frequently  went  to  sleep  in  the 
saddle,  and  once  awakened  to  find  the  horse  standing  by  the 
gate  of  a  patient  in  front  of  the  house  he  sometimes  visited. 
In  later  years  when  telling  of  those  strenuous  experiences  he 
remarked,  with  the  same  spirit  of  pluck  which  enabled  him  to 
endure  them,  "It  is  a  wonder  I  did  not  kill  myself,  but  I  was 
determined  to  win  or  die  in  the  saddle."  The  ardor  and  energy' 
of  youth  lent  romance  to  everj-day  drudgery. 


Harriet  Newell  Wishard 


HIS  MARRIAGE 

A  FAVORITE  expression  of  father's  when  reasoning 
about  any  results  that  were  different  from  what  he  had 
wished  they  might  be,  was,  "There  is  a  providence  in  all 
things."  His  fervent  Christian  faith  was  as  immovable  as  hu- 
man conviction  can  be;  so  firmly  fixed  and  unchangeable  that 
he  had  an  abiding  belief  that  God  overrules  the  mistakes  of 
His  children  for  their  good  when  they  are  willing  to  be  di- 
rected by  Him.  So  he  felt  there  was  a  divine  ordering  in  the 
events  that  led  him  to  his  new  field  of  endeavor,  contrary  to 
his  own  desires.  He  could  always  see  the  silver  lining  in  the 
clouds  of  his  disappointments. 

He  had  not  been  at  The  Bluffs  long  until  he  met  the  young 
woman  who  became  my  mother.  He  was  fond  of  adverting 
to  that  event  in  his  life,  especially  after  the  shadows  of  the 
evening  of  life  grew  longer  and  he  sat  alone  without  the  com- 
forting presence  of  her,  who,  for  more  than  sixty-one  years, 
adorned  his  home  with  her  sweet  womanly  dignity,  and 
smoothed  the  rough  places  they  encountered  by  her  cheerful 
sympathy  and  wise  co-operation.  When  he  alluded  to  that 
affair  of  the  heart  his  face  would  be  radiant  with  an  illumina- 
tion that  bespoke  the  tenderness  of  the  memories  that  surged 
upon  him  as  he  would  smile,  and  then  quaintly  add,  "I  never 
wanted  to  get  over  it."  The  picture  of  their  first  meeting  was 
never  erased  from  his  memory.  He  met  the  one,  who,  in  a 
few  months,  became  his  bride,  on  the  village  common.  It  was 
the  custom  then  for  people  to  speak  to  all  they  passed  on  the 
street  or  road,  a  habit  that  father  never  entirely  outgrew,  and 
when  the  young  lady  met  the  stranger  on  the  path  she  gave 
him  the  usual  greeting  and  passed  on,  but  the  impression  she 
made  was  far-reaching  in  its  consequences  and  sealed  her  fate. 

51 


52  William  Henry  Wishaed 

The  year  1840  was  one  of  significant  events  for  the  young 
physician,  for  he  had  not  only  achieved  the  great  desire  of 
his  Hfe  and  was  estabhshed  in  his  chosen  profession,  but  just 
before  its  close  he  married  Harriet  Newell  Moreland,  and 
thus  was  continued  a  courtship  that  lasted  far  beyond  the 
prophecies  of  those  who  witnessed  the  marriage  ceremony  and 
felt  that  the  frail  looking  girl  whom  he  had  wedded  would 
not  long  be  spared  to  bless  his  life.  Mother  preceded  father 
a  few  months  to  the  place  where  they  were  to  begin  their  long 
journey  of  life  together.  She  had  gone  there,  following  the 
death  of  her  mother  in  Indianapolis,  to  be  with  her  oldest  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  Elizabeth  McGuire,  to  whose  table  father  was  wel- 
comed, as  the  boarding  accommodations  of  the  small  town 
were  limited.  A  room  connected  with  his  office  provided  him 
with  sleeping  quarters.  Little  wonder  then  that  the  ardent 
young  lover  was  not  content  to  prolong  the  wooing  days,  but 
wished  to  establish  his  own  home,  presided  over  by  her  whom 
he  was  wont  to  speak  of  as  "the  only  girl  I  ever  loved,"  and 
his  love  for  her  never  waned. 

The  wedding  took  place  one  month  after  the  engagement,  a 
fact  their  children  took  pleasure  in  twitting  them  about  as  de- 
noting lack  of  proper  consideration  for  an  undertaking  so  mo- 
mentous, though  we  recognized  that  results  had  fully  war- 
ranted what,  otherwise,  might  have  seemed  undue  haste.  Pro- 
pinquity had  given  them  an  opportunity  to  fathom  character 
and  disposition,  which  satisfied  them  that  delay  would  be  of 
no  advantage.  The  village  tailor  was  not  equipped  for  filling 
emergency  orders;  therefore,  in  addition  to  hastily  preparing 
her  trousseau,  to  which  her  sisters  lent  a  helping  hand,  the 
bride-elect  made  the  bridegroom's  waistcoat  in  order  to  facili- 
tate the  preparation  of  his  wardrobe.  One  of  her  dresses  that 
outlived  the  deterioration  of  many  years  attested  the  neat, 


William  Henry  Wishard  53 

painstaking  needlework  which  made  that  particular  waistcoat 
a  treasure  that  ever  lingered  in  the  sweet  recollections  of  the 
one  who  wore  it. 

A  bit  of  advice  that  father  was  prone  to  give  young  men 
who  were  contemplating  matrimony  was,  "Remember,  the  girl 
you  choose  for  a  wife  is  not  only  to  sit  opposite  you  at  your 
table,  but  will  become  the  mother  of  your  children,  and  to  her 
you  must  entrust  their  training," 

The  marriage  was  solemnized  at  the  home  of  the  bride's 
sister  at  The  Bluffs  at  ten  o'clock  Wednesday  morning,  De- 
cember 17,  1840.  The  Rev.  Philip  Sydney  Cleland,  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  of  Greenwood,  was  the  officiating 
minister.  When  the  congratulations  had  been  extended,  the 
happy  pair  started  for  the  bridegroom's  home,  attended  by  the 
company  of  friends  who  had  witnessed  the  ceremony.  The 
important  social  function  that  signalized  a  wedding  in  the 
primitive  days  of  the  Hoosier  state  was  known  as  the  "infare." 
Friends  far  and  near  were  invited  to  that  old-fashioned  re- 
ception. The  engraver's  art  had  not  yet  produced  formal  in- 
vitations, but  the  lessened  duties  of  farm  life  during  the  win- 
ter gave  the  patriarchal  head  of  the  household  ample  time  to 
go  from  house  to  house  extending  an  invitation  to  every  fam- 
ily, children  as  well  as  adults,  and  judging  from  the  reports  of 
that  festive  occasion,  given  by  those  who  were  present,  he  in 
no  way  neglected  his  opportunity.  The  pioneer  home  was 
taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity  and  for  days  before  the  wedding 
the  diligent,  assiduous  mother,  assisted  by  her  daughters  and 
others,  was  busy  preparing  the  wedding  feast,  for  which  her 
husband  had  literally  obeyed  the  Bible  injunction  and  gone 
out  into  the  "highways  and  hedges"  to  invite  his  neighbors. 
His  first-born  had  left  the  parental  roof,  and  was  out  in  the 
world  to  make  a  place  and  home  for  himself  and  the  event 


54  William  Henry  Wishard 

was  too  auspicious  to  be  passed  by  without  appropriate  ob- 
servance. The  proverbial  latchstring  hung  out  at  all  times  for 
all  who  wished  to  lift  it  at  Grandfather  Wishard's  home.  It 
was  not  an  imagery  of  speech,  as  the  phrase  is  now  used,  but 
a  heavy  leather  thong  that  lifted  the  wooden  latch  of  the  pio- 
neer batten  door  and  during  the  day  hung  on  the  outside.  At 
night  it  was  pulled  in  to  protect  the  family  from  intruders  who, 
in  the  frontier  days,  too  often  proved  to  be  Indians. 

A  trip  to  Indianapolis  for  a  short  visit  over  Sunday,  where 
the  young  bride  could  see  the  friends  of  her  girlhood  days, 
completed  the  wedding  journey.  While  there  another  social 
function  was  given  for  them  at  the  home  of  Colonel  James 
Blake.  The  house  in  which  they  were  thus  honored  was  the 
last  log  structure,  typical  of  early  Indianapolis,  to  disappear, 
remaining  as  it  did  many  years  after  others  about  it  had  been 
demolished.  Mrs.  Blake  came  to  it  a  bride  from  her  home  in 
Baltimore  and  never  lived  in  any  house  but  that  one,  in  which 
she  died  in  1887. 

Colonel  Blake  came  to  Indianapolis  in  1821  and,  ten  years 
later,  returned  east  for  his  bride,  who  had  in  her  outfit  the 
first  piano  that  was  brought  to  Indianapolis.  Their  new  home 
was  not  completed  when  they  arrived  and  they  accepted  an 
invitation  to  be  guests  in  the  home  of  my  mother's  parents 
until  theirs  was  ready  for  occupancy.  Colonel  Blake  was  an 
elder  in  the  church  of  which  Grandfather  Moreland  was  pas- 
tor, and  when  the  latter  died  it  was  his  close  friend  who  be- 
came his  daughter's  guardian.  He  frequently  spoke  of  the  re- 
spect shown  to  him  by  father,  who  asked  his  approval  of  his 
marriage  to  the  girl  whose  interests  he  had  watched  over  with 
such  loving  fidelity,  although  she  was  then  of  legal  age.  In 
telling  of  the  visits  she  made  to  the  Blake  home,  which  in  the 
earlier  days  of  its  existence  was  in  the  country,  mother  would 
describe  how  it  had  to  be  reached  by  following  the  trail  that 


William  Henry  Wishaed  55 

led  through  pastures  and  cornfields  to  shorten  the  distance, 
which  then  seemed  interminable,  from  her  father's  home  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  North  Meridian  and  New  York  streets. 
The  Blake  home  was  located  on  the  northwest  corner  of  North 
Capitol  avenue  and  North  street. 

The  name  of  Col.  James  Blake  is  inseparably  linked  with 
the  beginnings  of  every  movement  that  had  to  do  with  the 
religious  and  civic  upbuilding  of  early  Indianapolis.  In  his 
"History  of  Indianapolis,"  Sulgrove  said  of  him:  "His  his- 
tory for  fifty  years  was  the  history  of  Indianapolis,  and  no 
citizen  has  ever  been  more  closely  identified  with  the  rise  and 
progress  of  the  city  and  its  philanthropic  and  benevolent  in- 
stitutions than  he."  Oliver  H.  Smith,  in  "Early  Indiana 
Trials  and  Sketches,"  commended  him  in  these  words :  "Indi- 
ana has  received  into  her  bosom  few  such  men  as  James 
Blake." 

Mother  was  also  a  native  of  Kentucky,  coming  to  Indiana 
with  her  parents  three  years  later  than  her  husband.  A  no- 
ticeable parallel  marked  the  location  of  residence  of  my  grand- 
fathers. They  were  both  born  near  Brownsville,  Pa.,  within 
a  mile  of  each  other;  in  early  manhood  they  lived  in  adjoining 
counties  in  Kentucky  and  located  only  ten  miles  apart  when 
coming  to  Indiana,  but  the  restrictions  placed  upon  travel  and 
communication  in  those  days  hindered  an  acquaintance. 

The  first  stories  I  ever  remember  to  have  heard  at  my 
mother's  knee  were  about  the  brave,  gifted  young  woman  for 
whom  she  was  named,  Harriet  Newell,  who  at  nineteen  years 
of  age  sailed  forth  on  what  was  then  an  unknown  and  untried 
mission.  She  and  Mrs.  Adoniram  Judson  were  the  first 
women  who  left  their  native  land  to  go  as  foreign  missionaries, 
when  in  1813,  they,  with  their  husbands,  formed  part  of  the 
initial  band  of  volunteers,  representing  different  churches,  that 
sought  to  invade  the  darkness  of  heathendom  in  India.  Though 


56  William  Henry  Wishard 

Harriet  Newell  lived  less  than  two  years  after  leaving  her 
native  land,  her  name  has  become  imperishable  and  the  love 
she  so  courageously  expressed  in  that  heroic  step  has  found  a 
ready  response  in  the  hearts  of  thousands  of  women  who  have 
since  gone  not  only  to  India  but  into  every  country  where  the 
cry  of  oppressed  womanhood  has  called  them.  My  grand- 
parents had  read  of  Harriet  Newell,  and  so  great  had  become 
their  admiration  for  her  lovely  character  and  unusual  spir- 
ituality that  when  their  daughter  was  born  they  bestowed  her 
name  upon  the  child. 

While  living  in  Indianapolis  during  her  young  womanhood, 
mother  went  to  Kentucky  for  a  prolonged  visit  with  relatives. 
During  her  absence  an  intimate  friend  of  hers  decided  to  has- 
ten her  marriage,  but  would  not  name  the  wedding  day  until 
she  knew  when  mother  would  return,  desiring  her  to  act  as 
bridesmaid;  but  as  she  could  not  make  the  trip  home  without 
an  escort,  and  not  wishing  to  delay  the  event,  the  bridegroom- 
elect  journeyed  to  Kentucky,  leading  an  extra  horse,  and  to- 
gether they  hurriedly  traveled  back,  the  last  day  riding  from 
early  morn  until  almost  midnight,  making  brief  stops  only  for 
their  meals. 

The  first  few  months  following  my  parents'  marriage  were 
spent  at  The  Bluffs  in  the  home  of  the  sister  where  the 
wedding  occurred.  In  the  spring  of  1841  it  was  deemed  best, 
for  professional  reasons,  to  move  to  the  village  of  Waverly, 
a  short  distance  south  of  The  Bluffs,  and  there  was  established 
the  home  that  for  seventy-three  years  continued  a  place  of  rest 
and  happiness  for  those  who  were  blessed  by  its  sheltering  care ; 
where  a  welcome  of  friendship  and  hospitality  was  never  with- 
held to  any  who  wished  to  accept  the  comforts  it  offered.  The 
weary  and  worn  found  in  it  a  refuge  as  well. 

It  was  a  modest  home,  to  be  sure,  that  the  young  doctor  and 
his  bride  first  occupied,  but  the  love  that  bound  their  lives  to- 


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William  Henry  Wishard  57 

gether  permeated  and  ruled  it  throughout  the  many  years  of 
its  existence.  A  brother  of  father's,  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Wishard, 
who  was  present  at  the  wedding,  and  frequently  a  much-loved 
guest  in  the  home,  whose  cheery  presence  always  radiated  joy 
and  sunshine,  in  writing  of  that  home  said :  "In  William's 
home  undeviating  kindness  reigned.  He  was  happily  married. 
It  could  scarcely  be  conceived  that  husband  and  wife  better 
suited  to  each  other  could  be  brought  together.  In  the  sixty- 
one  years  of  their  journeying  together  it  is  not  known  there 
was  ever  a  jar  or  discordant  note."  Lovingly  do  their  chil- 
dren bear  witness  to  the  truthfulness  of  that  statement,  and 
this  grateful  pen  would  further  testify  that  not  one  of  them 
ever  heard  a  conversation  between  their  parents  that  could  not 
have  been  uttered  anywhere,  so  far  as  the  spirit  that  actuated 
them  was  concerned.  When  they  differed  in  opinion  they  did 
it  without  being  disagreeable,  and  with  kindly  recognition  of 
the  right  of  the  other  to  have  individual  views.  Their  mar- 
ried life  was  ideal  in  its  beauty  and  devotion  to  each  other, 
marred  only  by  the  sorrows  that  more  firmly  welded  the  per- 
fect union  of  hearts  and  purpose.  I  never  remember  father 
coming  into  the  house  and  not  seeing  mother  but  he  would  go 
to  seek  her.  Finding  her  occupied  he  would  go  to  his  papers 
or  books,  satisfied  if  only  a  glance  revealed  her  presence.  The 
consciousness  of  her  nearness  contented  him,  but  without  that 
assurance  he  was  restless  and  uneasy. 

The  gentleness  and  adaptability  that  enabled  her  amiably  to 
share  the  lot  of  a  struggling  young  doctor,  and  readily  and 
cheerfully  co-operate  with  him,  finding  her  greatest  joy  in  fur- 
thering his  interests,  were  the  elements  that  so  largely  con- 
tributed toward  her  success  in  making  for  him  the  home,  about 
which  he  could  have  said : 

"It  is  just  a  bit  of  Heaven, 
That  I  could  not  describe  if  I  tried." 


58  William  Henry  Wishard 

She  understood  the  essential  quaHties  that  must  enter  into 
the  construction  of  a  happy  home,  and  to  the  accompHshment 
of  that  end  she  consecrated  her  time  and  talents,  or  as  another 
put  it,  "she  was  emphatically  a  Christian  home-maker  and  her 
door  was  open,  her  table  spread  and  her  welcome  cordial  to  all 
of  God's  servants  and  all  the  needy  to  whom  she  could  extend 
sympathy  and  help."  Indeed  it  is  not  stating  it  too  strongly 
to  say  that  she  made  her  home  a  sort  of  ministerial  cara- 
vansary. 

The  first  housekeeping  outfit  was  not  large,  and  today  would 
be  looked  upon  by  a  young  housekeeper  as  wholly  inadequate 
to  her  needs,  but  where  furniture  and  other  equipment  were 
lacking,  love  and  contentment  supplied  the  vacancies,  and 
husband  and  wife  harmoniously  worked  together  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  God's  greatest  social  center,  a  Christian  home. 
The  almost  impassable  roads  in  the  winter  and  spring  made 
it  difficult  to  get  to  Indianapolis  for  supplies,  and  to  provide 
the  china  and  kitchen  utensils  necessary,  father  had  to  go  on 
horseback,  returning  with  the  purchases,  for  which  he  paid 
six  dollars,  in  sacks  thrown  over  the  back  of  the  horse  he  rode. 
Hospitality  was  manifested  at  the  inauguration  of  that  home 
when  two  guests  sat  down  to  the  first  meal  prepared  by  the 
young  housewife,  who  did  not  have  to  reckon  with  the  high 
cost  of  living  problems  that  perplex  the  housekeepers  in  these 
strenuous  war  times,  for  she  paid  only  two  cents  per  dozen  for 
eggs. 

The  characteristics  that  stand  out  most  prominently  as  I  re- 
call my  mother  in  the  days  when  the  multiplicity  of  cares  of 
her  home  and  large  family  devolved  upon  her,  were  her  inex- 
haustible patience  and  serenity  of  temperament  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, nerve-racking  as  they  must  have  been  at  times, 
with  not  only  her  own  boys  and  girls  to  make  the  house  lively, 
and  at  times  somewhat  frolicsome,  but  also  their  friends,  whom 


William  Henry  Wishaed  59 

they  were  always  at  liberty  to  have  join  them  in  their  pleas- 
ures. She  could  arise  to  any  emergency  with  complete  self- 
control.  A  daughter-in-law  spoke  truly  of  her  when  she  said, 
"Mother  will  never  have  to  answer  for  words  idly  spoken." 
It  was  said  of  her  by  one  who  had  been  a  guest  in  the  home  for 
a  prolonged  period  that  "she  was  the  most  nearly  perfect  ex- 
ample of  patience  and  calmness  I  ever  saw." 

She  ministered  not  only  to  her  own,  a  word  which,  accord- 
ing to  her  generous  method  of  multiplication,  was  susceptible 
of  expansion  that  included  relatives  and  many  others,  but  be- 
fore trained  nurses  came  upon  the  scene  of  action  to  render 
their  beneficent  services  she  frequently  went  with  her  husband 
and  supplemented  his  attentions  by  her  own  in  relieving  those 
who  were  afflicted.  I  have  heard  father  say  that  it  was  not 
an  infrequent  occurrence  to  have  the  messenger  who  came  for 
him  bring  a  request  for  his  wife  to  accompany  him,  if  she 
could,  so  well  did  the  anxious  watchers  at  the  bedside  know 
that  her  entrance  into  the  sickroom  would  allay  their  fears  as 
well  as  bring  greater  comfort  to  the  stricken  ones.  Her  great- 
est joy  seemed  always  to  come  from  serving  others. 

During  the  civil  war  she  was  foremost  in  uniting  the  women 
of  the  Glenn's  Valley  neighborhood  into  an  organization  that 
sent  aid  to  the  men  at  the  front.  For  many  years  she  was  a 
faithful  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school.  Her  impaired  health 
forbade  an  active  participation  in  the  missionary  and  other  en- 
terprises of  the  church  which  are  of  more  recent  development, 
but  she  was  present  at  the  meetings  whenever  possible  and 
never  withheld  her  sympathetic  interest  and  material  assist- 
ance. That  her  efforts  were  appreciated,  circumscril>ed  as  they 
necessarily  were,  was  touchingly  revealed  in  the  service  held 
in  memory  of  her  by  the  missionary  society  to  which  she  be- 
longed. 

The  spirit  of  endurance  that  seemed  an  inseparable  part  of 


60  William  Heney  Wishard 

her  nature,  notwithstanding  her  fragile  constitution,  stood  her 
well  in  hand  during  the  fatal  illness,  when  not  only  her  family 
but  attending  physicians  marveled  at  her  fortitude.  The 
nurses  who  assisted  in  caring  for  her  during  that  long,  and 
at  times  exceedingly  painful  illness  of  almost  five  years,  spoke 
of  her  as  the  most  patient  sufferer  they  had  ever  known.  One 
who  had  come  in  close  touch  with  her  preceding  those  years 
of  invalidism  wrote,  after  her  life  service  had  ended,  "During 
these  years  in  which  I  have  been  privileged  to  know  her  the 
gentle  beauty  of  her  loving  Christian  spirit  and  disposition 
shone  out  more  and  more  from  her  face  and  was  manifested 
in  the  very  tones  of  her  voice."  Another,  in  writing  of  her, 
said,  "She  always  wore  a  look  of  sweet  patience  and  high  re- 
solve such  as  mark  the  faces  of  saints  and  heroes." 

The  memories  of  that  home  that  are  cherished  by  those  for 
whom  the  parents  unselfishly  labored  are  very  tender.  I  fear 
sometimes  their  children  were  inclined  to  think  their  views  of 
life  and  conduct  a  little  too  rigid  for  our  pleasure,  but  firmly 
and  gently  would  they  reason  with  us  that  they  were  guided 
in  their  course  by  what  they  believed  to  be  best  for  us,  and  they 
wanted  us  to  see  the  wisdom  of  their  decisions  and  thereby 
strengthen  their  position  in  the  church  and  society  by  standing 
with  them  in  upholding  the  essential  principles  of  life,  in  which 
they  had  declared  their  belief,  and  which  we  knew  they  were 
conscientiously  attempting  to  live  up  to.  Their  standards  were 
always  high,  and  when  they  reached  a  conclusion  that  governed 
their  actions  they  never  retreated  so  long  as  they  believed  it 
to  be  the  right  one.  They  were  swayed  by  Christian  motives 
that  were  the  logical  outgrowth  of  their  consecration  to  their 
Lord  and  Master,  and  were  of  one  accord  in  living  "unspotted 
from  the  world"  while  being  a  vital  part  of  it.  Many  times 
we  were  reminded  by  our  mother  that  our  father  was  an  elder 
in  the  church  and  that  our  deportment  should  become  the  chil- 


William  Hexry  Wishaed  61 

dren  of  one  occupying  such  a  position.  Ready  to  yield  in  non- 
essentials, she  never  surrendered  when  principle  was  involved. 
It  was  written  of  her,  after  her  spirit  had  taken  its  upward 
flight  and  been  freed  from  the  bondage  of  the  flesh,  by  one  who 
had  intimately  known  her  many  years  as  pastor  and  friend, 
that  "her  influence  was  as  unusual  in  its  breadth  and  uplift  as 
her  spirit  was  sweet." 


THE  BUSY  YEARS 

"It  were  easier  to  turn  the  sun  frovi  his  course  than  thee  from 
the  paths  of  virtue." 

THE  little  home  my  parents  had  established  in  Waverly 
was  soon  to  be  transplanted.  Not  long  after  its  founding 
father  decided  he  would  prefer  to  locate  in  the  community 
where  he  had  spent  his  youth  and  early  manhood.  A  doctor's 
location  did  not  depend  upon  a  clientele  in  a  sparsely-settled 
community,  and  distance  was  no  barrier  to  professional  calls, 
as  the  weary  man  could  testify  after  a  long  ride  in  the  rain, 
heat  or  cold,  whichever  it  might  be.  Accordingly,  father  and 
mother  removed  to  the  old  home,  occupying  the  house  built  by 
my  grandfather.  Col.  John  Wishard,  when  he  first  came  to 
Indiana,  he  having  erected  a  more  modern  and  commodious 
structure  on  another  part  of  his  farm.  It  was  there  the  first 
child,  John  Moreland,  was  bom;  but  he  was  given  to  his  par- 
ents only  a  few  days. 

Meanwhile  Doctor  Noble's  practice  had  been  enlarging  as 
the  population  grew  and  he  felt  the  necessity  of  having  his 
partner  with  him;  therefore  he  offered  father  a  full  partner- 
ship, which  was  accepted,  and  he  returned  to  Greenwood.  For 
ten  years  that  relationship  remained  unbroken.  Other  babies 
came  to  brighten  the  lives  of  the  father  and  mother,  who 
grieved  for  their  first  born,  but  they,  too,  did  not  tarry  long 
and  the  childless  home  became  a  lonely  spot  to  the  disap- 
pointed occupants.  Rachel  Agnes,  Martha  and  Mary  Ellis 
were  the  names  bestowed  upon  the  three  little  girls  whose  mem- 
ory ever  remained  fragrant  with  their  father  and  mother,  who 
enjoyed  relating  the  incidents  of  childhood  that  are  dear  to  the 
hearts  of  all  parents.    Agnes  was  four  and  one-half  years  old 

62 


William  Henry  Wishard  68 

when  she  was  stricken  and  suddenly  died,  but  in  that  brief  time 
she  gave  evidence  of  a  disposition  of  singular  sweetness, 
strength  of  mind  and  character  seldom  found  in  one  of  her 
age.  One  night  when  father  was  away  mother  became  alarm- 
ingly ill,  and  with  remarkable  presence  of  mind  and  all  ab- 
sence of  fear,  Agnes  walked  nearly  half  a  mile,  alone,  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  to  summon  a  neighbor  to  come  to 
mother's  assistance. 

At  another  time  she  was  overheard  discussing  the  unseen 
things  of  eternity  with  a  workman  on  the  place,  disclosing 
more  than  a  childish  interpretation  or  fancy  about  such  mys- 
teries. She  concluded  by  interrogating  with  him  the  un- 
answerable question,  "Do  you  think  when  I  go  to  heaven  Mrs. 
God  will  ask  me  to  have  a  chair?"  It  was  not  long  until  her 
angelic  spirit  was  called  to  the  place  prepared  for  her  by  the 
Friend  of  little  children. 

The  long-coveted  opportunity  at  last  came  for  father  to 
gratify  his  desire  to  attend  a  course  of  medical  lectures  when 
he  went  to  Cincinnati,  the  medical  center  of  the  west  at  that 
time,  and  matriculated  in  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio  for  the 
college  year  which  opened  in  November,  1845,  remaining 
throughout  the  entire  session.  That  experience  made  him 
eager  for  greater  knowledge,  but  circumstances  did  not  permit 
another  prolonged  absence  from  home  until  the  winter  of 
1848-49,  which  he  spent  in  LaPorte,  where  the  first  Medical 
College  of  Indiana  was  located.  According  to  the  history  of 
that  college,  as  given  in  "Medical  History  of  Indiana"  by  Dr. 
G.  W.  H.  Kemper,  it  was  organized  in  1842,  and  its  first  course 
of  lectures  was  delivered  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  making  it 
one  of  the  first  medical  colleges  in  the  northwest.  The  class 
of  1849,  with  which  father  was  graduated,  consisted  of  thirty 
members,  and  ninety-three  students  matriculated  that  year, 


64  William  Henry  Wishard 

though  at  one  time  there  were  one  hundred  and  four  students 
enrolled.  Many  of  the  graduates  became  prominent  practi- 
tioners in  Indiana,  among  whom  were  Doctor  Lomax,  of 
Marion;  Doctor  Baker,  of  Stockwell,  and  Doctor  Evarts,  for 
some  years  superintendent  of  the  Central  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane. 

Students  were  in  attendance  from  a  wide  area,  includinsr 
the  states  of  New  York  and  Mississippi,  which  bespeaks  the 
high  rank  it  occupied  in  medical  circles.  Doctor  Knapp,  pro- 
fessor of  materia  medica,  gave  the  commencement  address  to 
the  class  of  1847.  "Now  all  the  world  knows,"  he  said,  "that 
the  theories  and  doctrines  in  pathology  and  therapeutics  are 
changing,  improving,  advancing  under  the  light  of  investiga- 
tion. I  would  be  very  sorry  to  entertain  now  the  pathological 
notions  of  malarious  fevers  that  were  taught  me  in  Jefferson 
College,  much  as  I  venerate  my  alma  mater;  and  it  would  be 
a  source  of  great  and  lasting  regret  with  me  to  have  taught  you 
as  I  was  taught,  or  as  the  books  teach,  the  therapeutic  pre- 
cepts to  govern  the  practitioner  in  the  treatment.  I  might  say 
the  same  of  other  forms  of  disease."  Continuing,  he  added: 
"But,  gentlemen,  under  the  light  of  observation  and  experi- 
ence afforded  your  teachers  in  western  practice,  in  the  treat- 
ment of  our  endemic  diseases,  you  will  go  forth  from  this 
school  of  medicine  with  a  pathology  and  therapy  that  will 
avail  you  in  the  west  like  a  magic  wand,  or  as  a  brazen  ser- 
pent did  Moses  in  the  Israelitish  camp.  Western  people  have 
already  seen  the  eastern  bred  physician  succumb  to  the  superior 
skill  of  the  graduates  of  this  college,  and  the  opinion  that  the 
students  must  graduate  at  LaPorte,  in  order  to  practice  suc- 
cessfully in  the  northwest,  is  becoming  prevalent  now." 

Doctor  Knapp's  laudatory  statements  regarding  the  position 
the  LaPorte  college  held  in  his  estmiation  indicate  the  rivalry 
that  then  existed  among  medical  colleges. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  65 

Judge  John  B.  Niles,  professor  of  chemistry,  was  the  only 
member  of  the  faculty  who  was  not  a  physician,  but  the  con- 
cluding sentences  of  the  address  he  gave  to  the  class  of  1849 
reveal  his  clear  conception  of  the  high  calling  upon  which  the 
young  men  were  entering.  "Intelligent  physicians  must  oc- 
cupy a  high  place  in  this  new  order  of  things.  Then,  gentle- 
men of  the  graduating  class,  go  forth  from  the  slavery  of 
mammon  or  of  lust  'in  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God,  to  do 
your  work  of  love.'  By  seeking  truth  for  the  good  of  life  you 
will  become  allied  to  all  the  good  and  true,  and  to  the  great 
author  of  goodness  and  truth  Himself.  May  His  spirit  ani- 
mate and  His  blessing  crown  your  lives." 

It  was  the  same  year  of  his  graduation,  1849,  that  father 
was  present  at  the  organization  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical 
Society,  of  which  he  was  president  at  the  fortieth  anniversary 
and  was  also  the  last  survivor  of  the  eighty- four  charter  mem- 
bers. 

Letters  that  have  survived  the  ravages  of  time  reveal  a 
sprightly  correspondence  between  father  and  his  cousin,  Sue 
Courtney  Evans,  of  Ripley,  Ohio.  "Don't  you  feel  as  if  you 
are  nearly  out  of  the  world  away  off  there  in  the  farthest  cor- 
ner of  Indiana?"  was  her  way  of  expressing  the  sympathy  she 
felt  for  him  in  what  seemed  to  her  such  an  unending  distance 
separating  him  from  his  home  and  loved  ones  when  he  was 
studying  at  LaPorte. 

A  few  years  after  their  marriage  my  parents  made  a  visit 
to  Kentucky  on  horseback  to  see  the  numerous  relatives  that 
constituted  the  different  branches  of  the  McGohon  family,  and 
returned  via  Ripley,  where  an  aunt  of  father's  lived,  Mrs.  Jane 
Courtney,  a  sister  of  Grandfather  Wishard.  It  was  the  day  of 
the  extreme  full  dress  skirts,  and  a  conference  of  the  women  in 
one  of  the  homes  was  held  during  that  visit  to  weigh  the  im- 
portant question  as  to  whether  or  not  one  of  the  dress  skirts  of 


66  William  Henry  Wishard 

the  aforesaid  Sue  was  of  sufficient  proportions  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements then  demanded  by  fashion.  Sue  was  planning  a 
journey  to  Cincinnati,  and  as  the  skirt  had  only  thirteen  full 
widths  her  cautious  mother  was  inclined  to  think  it  was 
scarcely  as  modest  an  attire  as  she  wished  her  daughter  to 
appear  in,  especially  as  she  would  have  to  walk  the  gang  plank 
that  led  from  the  wharf  to  the  boat,  about  which  there  would 
be  a  crowd  of  bystanders  gazing  upon  the  passengers  as  they 
landed. 

The  letters  sent  from  LaPorte  to  the  wife  at  home  breathe 
a  spirit  of  tender  solicitude  for  her  welfare  and  divulge  the 
loneliness  the  parting  brought  to  the  writer  of  them,  as  the 
following  one  illustrates :  "December  5,  1848.  This  morn- 
ing I  received  your  letter  and  through  the  mercies  of  a  kind 
providence  I  am  spared  to  write  you  in  the  enjoyment  of  good 
health  and  spirits,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  prosecution  of  my 
medical  studies,  but  I  can  not  help  feeling  great  anxiety  about 
you  and  our  only  child  (referring  to  Mary) .  I  shall  be  uneasy 
until  I  hear  from  you  again,  which  I  hope  will  be  this  week. 
My  mind  is  made  up  never  to  leave  you  so  long  again  while 
we  are  spared  to  live  on  earth,  and  that  we  may  be  permitted 
to  live  long  to  enjoy  each  other's  society,  and  united  above  to 
enjoy  the  bliss  of  heaven,  and  there  to  meet  those  gone  be- 
fore, who  are  near  and  dear  to  us,  shall  ever  be  my  prayer." 

The  postage  on  each  letter  then  was  twenty-five  cents.  En- 
velopes had  not  been  introduced  and  the  last  page  of  the  letter 
was  left  blank  and  so  folded  as  to  give  room  for  the  address 
and  fastened  together  with  sealing  wax. 

The  restrictions  of  the  lecture  room  were  a  trying  change 
from  the  open  free  life  of  the  country  and  could  not  but  tell 
upon  the  health  and  spirits  of  one  so  vigorous  physically  as  the 
student  who  was  applying  himself  sedulously  to  his  work. 
December  12  he  wrote:   "I  have  not  been  as  well  as  usual  and 


William  Henry  Wishaed  67 

I  attribute  it  to  the  close  confinement,  which  does  not  agree 
with  me  after  Hving  an  active  hfe,  but  I  am  more  than  willing 
to  endure  it  for  the  good  that  I  may  get.  When  I  think  of  the 
many  miles  that  lie  between  us,  it  almost  gives  me  the  blues. 
I  sometimes  think  I  have  had  discouraging  circumstances  and 
disadvantages  to  labor  under,  but  'the  race  is  not  to  the  swift, 
nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,'  but  to  him  who  will  persevere  and 
never  turn  back.  Though  I  have  had  to  pass  through  hard 
places,  with  scarcely  a  sunbeam  in  view  at  times,  it  has  ever 
been  my  purpose  to  accomplish  the  end  for  which  I  am  aiming, 
and  I  never  regret  that  I  made  medicine  my  choice.  Time 
wags  on,  and  ten  weeks  from  tomorrow  the  session  closes 
and  then  I  will  move  south  as  far  as  Greenwood  with  all  the 
velocity  possible.  I  know  you  will  meet  me  at  Indianapolis." 
On  Christmas  day  he  writes,  after  expressions  of  gratitude 
to  God  for  the  mercies  bestowed  upon  him,  which  pervade 
every  letter:  "I  feel  quite  comfortable  in  every  respect  except 
one,  and  that  is  that  I  have  not  heard  from  you  in  a  long  time." 
The  delay  and  uncertainty  of  the  mails,  which  went  by  stage 
coach,  is  explained  farther  on.  "There  is  much  irregularity 
in  the  mails;  that  which  came  in  this  morning  brought  none 
south  of  Logansport.  Reports  say  the  roads  are  very  bad 
south  of  that  town,  heavy  rains  and  high  waters,  while  we  are 
having  the  finest  snows  that  I  have  ever  seen.  This  is  a  beauti- 
ful day,  the  sun  is  shining  very  bright  and  sleighs  are  running, 
all  glee  and  commotion,  with  no  lectures  today.  I  am  spending 
Christmas  in  my  room  transcribing  my  paper  with  such  cor- 
rections as  I  hope  will  make  me  pass.  All  the  candidates  for 
the  degree  of  M.  D.  must  report  tomorrow,  and  as  I  am  on 
the  list  it  behooves  me  to  keep  moving.  You  know  the  old 
maxim  says  'make  hay  while  the  sun  shines,'  but  it  is  the  hard- 
est thing  imaginable  for  me  to  keep  my  mind  on  medical  sub- 
jects.   It  will  wander  back  to  home  and  all  its  endearing  asso- 


68  William  Henry  Wishard 

ciations,  and  I  think  of  you  and  our  beloved  child.  I  fear  I  see 
the  worst  side  of  the  picture,  for  I  am  always  fearing  one  of 
you  may  be  sick.  I  know  it  is  wrong,  for  you  are  in  the  hands 
of  a  kind  Providence;  but  when  the  hour  of  affliction  comes  we 
wish  to  be  present,  and  there  could  hardly  be  a  greater  trial  to 
me  than  to  know  you  are  sick  and  I  could  not  have  the  privi- 
lege of  standing  by  your  side  and  ministering  to  your  wants. 
There  are  not  a  few  who  would  extend  to  you  the  necessary 
aid,  and  you  would  not  suffer  for  attention,  but  after  all  it 
would  not  satisfy  me  not  to  be  present  myself." 

In  writing  of  the  professors  he  referred  to  one  of  whom  he 
often  spoke  in  after  years  with  love  and  admiration.  "Doctor 
Deming  was  in  my  room  this  evening;  he  calls  to  see  me  every 
three  or  four  days  and  is  one  of  the  finest  gentlemen  I  ever 
knew;  he  is  idolized  by  his  class." 

Father  did  not  forget  the  horse  that  had  served  him  so 
faithfully  on  many  of  his  long  and  lonely  rides  and  sent  a 
message  about  him  to  a  brother :  "Tell  John  to  take  good  care 
of  old  Jack,  for  he  has  been  my  intimate  companion  and  fel- 
low sufferer  for  the  last  few  years."  "Write  often  and  long 
letters,"  he  adds  elsewhere. 

That  the  ambitious  young  doctor  continued  to  devote  him- 
self diligently  to  the  supreme  object  before  him  is  shown  in 
a  letter  written  as  the  year  drew  to  a  close:  "December  30, 
1848.  You  can  form  no  idea  of  how  anxious  I  am  to  see  you 
and  our  little  girl.  I  am  homesick  in  truth,  but  I  endeavor  not 
to  let  it  interfere  with  my  studies.  I  am  pulling  every  oar  for 
a  safe  voyage  over  the  Rubicon,  which  I  hope  to  cross  Feb- 
ruary 22,  which  is  the  day  for  conferring  the  degrees.  The 
prospect  of  the  prize  at  the  end  of  the  race  spurs  me  with  in- 
creased energy.  I  know  you  are  not  looking  on  as  an  idle 
spectator,  but  feel  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  my  suc- 
cess, for  my  interests  are  your  interests,  and  my  happiness  is 


William  Heney  Wishard  69 

yours.  Be  assured  I  am  not  leaving  a  stone  unturned.  I  am 
glad  you  attended  to  that  land,  for  I  had  forgotten  about  it. 
The  truth  is  my  mind  has  not  been  running  on  houses  and 
lands,  but  degrees."  January  4,  1849:  *'I  rejoice  that  at  pres- 
ent I  am  quite  well,  better  than  at  any  time  since  I  came  here. 
Six  feet  and  a  half  of  snow  have  fallen  since  I  came  to  La- 
Po'rte,  more  than  I  have  ever  seen  in  one  winter.  My  thesis 
must  be  ready  in  a  few  days.  I  hope  soon  to  accomplish  the 
end  for  which  I  am  laboring,  and  then  I  will  'take  the  wings 
of  the  morning  and  fly'  to  you.  Eight  weeks  from  tonight  I 
will  be  at  home.  Tell  our  dear  child  I  will  soon  return  to  her." 
The  last  letter  extant  telling  of  that  winter  "away  off  there  in 
the  farthest  comer  of  Indiana"  is  dated  January  25,  1849,  and 
concludes :  "Write  often  until  February  12.  We  close  our 
labor  here  four  weeks  from  today.  The  time  will  soon  pass 
by  and  then  I  will  be  found  traveling."  The  ride  from  La- 
Porte  to  Indianapolis  was  described  by  father  as  one  of  the 
hardest  he  ever  experienced.  The  stage  coach  to  Logansport 
was  delayed,  and  without  any  time  for  rest  upon  arrival  at 
that  point,  he  immediately  transferred  to  the  one  starting  for 
Indianapolis,  which  was  so  crowded  that  the  only  available 
seat  was  on  top  of  the  stage  with  the  driver,  where  he  rode  all 
through  the  night,  exposed  to  rain  and  cold,  but  he  wanted  to 
"be  found  traveling"  toward  home  and  the  waiting  wife  and 
little  girl.  With  such  compensations  in  store,  the  discom- 
forts of  fatigue  and  exposure  could  not  restrain  one  of  his  in- 
tense eagerness  and  tremendous  endurance.  In  subsequent 
years,  as  the  mail  facilities  improved,  he  never  failed  to  send 
a  daily  letter  home  when  he  was  traveling  alone. 

These  excerpts  reveal  the  harmonious  mingling  of  love  for 
those  who  claimed  the  first  place  in  his  life  and  the  obligation 
he  felt  devolved  upon  him  to  better  equip  himself  for  his  pro- 
fession.   With  the  well-earned  diploma  the  busy  doctor  was 


70  William  Henry  Wishard 

soon  at  home,  ministering  to  those  who  needed  his  services, 
but  still  craving  opportunity  for  better  preparation.  Conse- 
quently he  returned  to  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio  for  the 
winter  of  1850-51,  but  that  time  he  did  not  leave  the  wife  be- 
hind, for  the  home  was  too  empty  for  her  to  be  left  alone. 
The  voice  of  little  Mary,  which  had  been  such  sweet  music  to 
the  ears  of  her  devoted  parents,  was  silenced  forever.  Chil- 
dren subsequently  bom  were  William  Niles,  Albert  Willard, 
George  Whitefield,  Harriet  Jane  and  Elizabeth  Moreland. 

Following  his  third  course  of  medical  lectures,  father  re- 
turned home  and  was  soon  again  in  the  full  swing  of  his  pro- 
fessional duties.  A  business  trip  took  him  to  Pittsburg  a 
few  years  later,  when  he  was  commissioned  to  make  purchases 
at  Madison,  which  was  then  the  main  source  of  commercial 
supplies  in  Indiana.  Explaining  his  inability  to  execute  an  er- 
rand for  one  of  his  brothers  he  wrote :  "Tell  John  there  was 
not  a  sugar  kettle  in  Madison  and  will  not  be  for  days,  as  navi- 
gation has  been  obstructed.  I  spent  the  night  with  Thomas 
Noble.  He  is  very  pleasantly  situated  and  doing  well,"  (Dr. 
Thomas  B.  Noble,  of  Greenwood,  then  a  medical  student  at- 
tending Ohio  Medical  College  at  Cincinnati,  who  afterward 
became  his  brother-in-law.)  That  letter  expresses  the  same 
solicitude  and  assurances  of  concern  for  the  wife  and  baby 
upon  whom  the  father's  name  had  been  bestowed,  and  closed 
by  saying,  "Take  good  care  of  our  boy." 

It  was  after  his  return  from  the  second  course  of  lectures  in 
Cincinnati  that  father  first  administered  an  anaesthetic,  the 
use  of  which  had  just  been  introduced  in  the  Ohio  Medical 
College,  and  the  method  of  painless  surgery  had  made  a  pro- 
found impression  upon  all  who  had  witnessed  its  demonstra- 
tion by  Dr.  Reuben  Muzzy,  the  professor  of  surgery.  The 
first  patient  to  whom  father  gave  an  anaesthetic  was  a  young 
man  who  had  fallen  from  a  load  of  hay  and  dislocated  his 


LiTTLK  Mary  With  Hkk  Mother 


William  Hexry  Wishaed  71 

shoulder.  He  was  a  large  man  and  powerfully  built.  The 
dislocation  occurred  several  hours  before  father  reached  him, 
and  he  found  the  swelling  made  it  impossible  to  reduce  it 
without  great  torture.  The  opportunity  had  now  come  for 
him  to  prove  the  efficacy  of  the  new  discovery  in  his  own  prac- 
tice, and  after  explaining  the  effect  of  it  to  the  patient  and  how 
it  would  enable  the  muscles  to  relax  and  the  shoulder  to  be  re- 
placed without  discomfort,  he  returned  to  Greenwood  for  the 
soothing  balm,  not  willing  to  jeopardize  it  in  the  hands  of 
others.  The  chloroform  had  become  such  an  object  of  in- 
terest to  the  populace  that  to  prevent  its  loss,  through  in- 
quisitiveness  and  evaporation,  he  had  tightly  corked  the  bot- 
tle that  contained  it  and  put  it  beyond  the  reach  of  all.  To 
him  it  was  still  an  experiment,  and  not  wishing  to  endanger 
his  family,  he  had  safely  hidden  it  in  the  woodshed.  Accom- 
panied by  another  physician,  he  returned  to  the  suffering  man 
to  find  that  the  news  of  the  approaching  test  had  spread 
through  the  neighborhood  and  an  assembly  of  curious  people 
surrounded  the  house.  Indeed,  the  occasion  had  resolved  it- 
self into  a  clinic  of  considerable  size.  But  opposition  had  to 
be  met,  for  the  wife  and  mother  of  the  patient  had  heard  of 
the  anaesthetic  and  refused  to  have  it  used. 

The  situation  demanded  drastic  measures,  for  no  one  but 
the  attending  physician  had  witnessed  its  power  to  relieve  and 
he  had  to  stand  unsupported  in  defending  his  position.  After 
considerable  parleying,  which  failed  to  convince  the  opposing 
women,  the  doctor  had  to  become  master  of  the  situation. 

Turning  to  the  young  man  he  asked,  "How  old  are  you?" 

"Twenty-one  last  January,"  he  replied. 

"As  you  are  of  legal  age,  you  can  make  your  choice;  do 
you  want  to  take  chloroform  or  not?"  he  was  asked. 

"I  do,"  was  his  answer. 

Turning  to  the  excited  women,  the  doctor  said,  "This  man 


72  William  Henry  Wishard 

is  of  age  and  has  decided  this  question  for  himself;  you  have 
nothing  further  to  say  about  it.  Will  you  please  leave  the 
room?" 

Others  had  to  forcibly  eject  them.  After  the  dislocation 
was  reduced  and  the  shoulder  bandaged,  they  were  again  ad- 
mitted and  found  the  patient  in  the  maudlin,  confused  state 
that  often  follows  anaesthesia.  The  women  thought  he  had 
become  mentally  deranged  and  his  mother,  falling  on  the  floor 
by  the  patient,  where  he  had  been  placed  for  the  operation, 
wept  and  threw  her  arms  around  him  and  upbraided  father  by 
exclaiming,  "Oh!  you  have  destroyed  my  son's  reason  by 
giving  him  that  stuff." 

Just  then  the  patient  was  coming  to  his  senses,  as  the  answer 
he  gave  indicated  that  at  least  for  the  time  being  he  was  more 
rational  than  his  mother.  "It  is  no  such  thing;  you  are  crazier 
than  I  am." 

Still  agitated  and  hysterical,  she  cried  out,  "How  do  you 
feel,  my  son?" 

"In  a  perfect  blaze  of  glory,"  he  rapturously  proclaimed. 

Prejudice  was  conquered,  and  the  doctor  no  longer  had  to 
overcome  resistance  when  an  anaesthetic  was  demanded,  for 
its  virtue  had  become  established. 

The  inexpressible  anguish  and  torture  suffered  by  patients 
who  had  to  be  strapped  to  the  operating  table  before  submit- 
ting to  the  surgeon's  knife  is  vividly  set  forth  by  Dr.  P.  H. 
Jameson  in  an  interview  in  the  Indianapolis  Star.  In  nar- 
rating the  incident  of  a  case  he  and  father  were  called  to  see, 
when  they  met  for  the  first  time  in  1847,  and  had  to  ampu- 
tate a  boy's  leg,  he  said,  "I  never  will  forget  that  time.  Sur- 
gery in  those  days,  before  the  use  of  chloroform  in  operations, 
was  not  what  it  is  today.  The  boy  whom  Doctor  Wishard 
and  I  had  been  called  to  operate  on  was  about  ten  years  old. 
His  injury  was  due  to  the  falling  in  of  an  embankment  ad- 


William  Henry  Wishard  73 

jacent  to  the  excavation  for  the  old  Madison  railroad.  He  had 
been  playing  near  the  embankment  and  when  it  caved  in  the 
bones  of  his  ankle  were  crushed.  The  amputation  of  the  leg 
was  a  terrible  ordeal,  and  I  will  never  forget  the  screams  of  the 
lad  as  we  cut  through  the  flesh.  No  chloroform  was  used. 
All  that  we  gave  to  deaden  the  pain  was  a  dose  of  laudanum. 
This  had  little  effect,  and  it  took  several  men  to  hold  the  boy 
while  we  performed  the  operation.  He  was  held  as  though 
he  was  in  a  vise,  and  all  he  could  do  was  scream  at  the  top  of 
his  voice.  The  operation,  though,  was  successful,  and  later 
I  saw  the  boy  on  the  streets  of  Indianapolis.  After  that  I 
saw  Doctor  Wishard  frequently.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a 
friendship  which  continued  through  life." 

In  his  "Historical  Sketch  of  Medicine  and  Medical  Men  in 
the  Early  Days  of  Johnson  County,"  Dr.  R.  W.  Terhune 
graphically  describes  the  superstitions  which  often  baffled  the 
physicians  of  that  epoch  and  curbed  them  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  results  they  sought.  He  mentions  an  incident  in 
which  father  figured  as  the  principal  actor,  and  one  I  have 
heard  him  recall  with  still  a  twinge  of  remorse  that  he  had  so 
misled  a  guileless  woman.  It  must  be  remembered  that  many 
of  the  new  settlers  whom  the  doctors  were  called  to  attend 
had  brought  with  them  the  superstitions  they  had  absorbed 
from  the  colored  people  of  the  south,  and  when  beyond  the 
reach  of  physicians  had  recourse  only  to  the  old-fashioned 
home  remedies,  which  were  generally  prescribed  by  women; 
but  let  us  not  forget  that  New  England  had  its  day  of  sor- 
ceries and  witchcraft.  I  will  let  Doctor  Terhune  tell  how 
father  won  the  unsuspecting  woman  to  belief  in  the  curative 
agencies  he  administered. 

"An  amusing  instance  of  the  ignorance  of  the  times  in  the 
use  of  domestic  remedies  was  experienced  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
Wishard  when  a  young  man.     One  day  he  chanced  to  be  in 


74  William  Henry  Wishaed 

the  country,  calling  upon  a  patient,  when  a  neighbor  woman 
came  in  with  a  small  child  which  was  comely  and  interesting, 
with  the  exception  that  its  head  was  a  mass  of  festering  ulcers, 
covered  with  the  horrible  incrustations  of  scald-head.  Its  hair 
was  matted  and  disheveled  and  was  still  further  befouled  by  a 
liberal  application  of  some  oily  substance  that  had  been  applied 
for  curative  purposes,  but  that  was  evidently  utterly  powerless 
to  effect  a  cure.  Doctor  Wishard  became  interested  in  the 
poor  afflicted  creature  and  asked  the  mother  what  was  the 
matter  with  her  child.  She  informed  him,  and  he  asked  her 
what  remedy  she  was  using.  She  told  him  that  she  was  using 
goose  grease.  She  said  that  she  had  used  it  for  quite  a  while, 
as  it  was  the  best  remedy  to  be  had  for  such  diseases,  but  that 
it  seemed  to  be  of  no  avail  in  this  case.  The  doctor  looked 
very  grave  and  said  that  perhaps  the  goose  had  not  been  killed 
in  the  right  time  of  the  moon.  The  woman  said,  with  some 
little  hesitation,  that  she  thought  it  had  been  killed  at  the 
proper  time.  The  doctor  then  said,  'Are  you  sure  it  was  a 
goose  ?  Perhaps  you  killed  a  gander  by  mistake  ?'  The  woman, 
with  a  worried  look  upon  her  face,  said  she  didn't  know  that 
made  any  difference.  The  doctor  suggested  that  it  might,  at 
any  rate  that  something  had  been  lacking  in  the  art  of  prepara- 
tion of  this  oil  so  that  it  was  entirely  inert;  that  this  case  was 
very  severe  and  other  remedies  would  be  required.  To  this 
the  woman  readily  assented,  and  from  that  time  the  poor  child 
had  the  best  of  treatment.  A  doctor,  who  while  yet  young,  has 
the  rare  ease  of  temperament  that  can  thus  humor  the  whims 
of  an  ignorant  woman,  and  yet  treat  the  case  with  scientific 
exactness,  is  blessed  by  the  gods  indeed,  and  is  predestined 
to  high  success." 

Father  was  intensely  patriotic.  When  the  civil  war  called 
him  to  the  front  he  gave  his  services  to  his  country  with  the 
same  loyalty  and  devotion  to  duty  that  marked  every  act  of 


William  Henry  Wishard  75 

his  life.  In  the  paper  which  he  prepared  for  the  IndianapoHs 
Medical  Society,  entitled  "Some  Personal  Army  Experiences," 
and  included  in  this  volume,  he  told  of  the  experiences  which 
brought  him  in  intimate  touch  with  Governor  Morton,  for 
whom  he  had  profound  admiration  and  affection,  and  spoke  of 
him  as  "a  great  man  who  loved  humanity."  In  a  letter  to 
mother  dated  "May  12,  1862,  Pope's  Division,  Fifty-ninth  In- 
diana Regiment,  on  the  road  to  Corinth,"  he  gave  a  glimpse  of 
the  battle-field :  "The  regiment  started  out  yesterday  morning 
and  lay  out  all  night.  I  slept  soundly.  I  attended  the  funeral 
of  one  of  the  Iowa  Second  Cavalry  who  was  killed  in  the 
battle  Friday.  If  you  will  not  be  alarmed  I  will  just  say  I  was 
in  the  thickest  of  it,  where  shot  and  shell  fell  like  hail.  It  can 
be  seen  and  felt,  but  never  described.  Before  this  you  have 
read  particulars  of  the  battle.  The  way  I  got  into  it  was  acci- 
dental— 'done  a  purpose.'  I  was  in  Buell's  division,  in  the 
center  of  the  army,  with  the  Seventieth  Indiana  regiment,  and 
had  promised  Colonel  Alexander,  of  the  Fifty-ninth,  the  Gos- 
port  regiment,  that  if  he  and  his  men  got  into  the  fight  I  would 
be  with  them.  Thursday  night  there  were  signal  guns  fired  by 
Pope's  left  flank.  Friday  morning  I  started  for  the  Fifty- 
ninth,  but  when  I  got  near  the  camp  I  was  informed  that  they 
were  in  advance  and  on  the  extreme  left.  I  had  not  gone  any 
distance  until  the  artillery  commenced,  and  before  I  got  within 
a  half  mile  of  the  field,  shells  from  the  rebel  guns  fell  all 
around  me.  I  hurried  on  to  get  to  the  regiment,  for  it  was  no 
time  to  stand  and  look  on.  I  came  to  the  right  of  the  field  and 
had  to  cross  it  in  a  southern  direction  to  the  Fifty-ninth,  and 
you  may  depend  upon  my  word  that  the  explosion  of  shells, 
the  shouts  of  combatants,  the  charging  of  cavalry  and  the 
firing  of  musketry  was  the  most  exciting  performance  that  I 
ever  witnessed.  I  passed  nearly  across  the  field  before  I  dis- 
covered that  there  was  not  an  Indiana  regiment  on  it.     The 


76  William  Henry  Wishard 

infantry  was  from  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  and  the  cavalry  from 
Iowa,  so  I  had  to  return  over  the  same  ground  and  the  fight 
in  full  blast,  but  it  was  soon  finished.  I  do  not  think  it  lasted 
over  two  hours.  All  of  Pope's  Advance,  some  thirty  thousand, 
with  sixty  pieces  of  artillery,  were  drawn  up  on  our  rear  for 
a  general  field  fight.  My  curiosity  is  more  than  satisfied  and 
I  think  I  shall  not  be  in  any  other  fight,  as  it  is  not  the  place 
of  the  doctor  to  put  himself  in  danger  unnecessarily.  I  do  not 
think  we  will  get  to  Corinth  for  some  days ;  we  move  slowly, 
and  fortify  as  we  go,  skirmishing  every  day,  and  take  many 
prisoners."  More  than  a  year  later  when  again  in  the  South  he 
wrote:  "Camp  in  rear  of  Vicksburg,  July  1,  1863.  I  should 
like  to  be  able  to  spend  the  Fourth  with  you,  but  it  is  impossi- 
ble. I  am  compelled  to  remain,  as  on  that  day  we  expect  an  ar- 
tillery fight  such  as  has  never  been  known  on  the  continent  of 
America.  I  wish  I  could  describe  to  you  all  I  have  witnessed 
tonight.  Since  dark  I  have  been  nearly  a  mile  from  our  camp 
to  visit  our  quartermaster,  and  on  my  return  I  thought  of 
home  and  its  quiet  scenes  compared  with  what  I  see  about  me. 
The  moon  is  just  rising;  the  whole  country  is  enveloped  in 
clouds  of  smoke  and  dust;  camp-fires  are  on  every  hill  and  in 
every  hollow  for  miles  around.  The  incessant  roar  of  cannon 
and  the  constant  crack  of  muskets  from  our  sharpshooters 
keep  up  such  a  din  and  confusion  as  are  rarely  heard.  I 
talked  with  some  rebel  deserters  today  who  came  out  last  night. 
They  told  me  the  rebel  generals  say  they  will  have  to  sur- 
render, but  we  will  not  celebrate  the  Fourth  iri  Vicksburg.  Our 
men  are  working  day  and  night  to  have  our  heavy  cannon  in 
position  to  open  fire  that  morning.  Many  poor  fellows  will 
take  their  last  look  at  this  green  earth  that  day." 

On  the  morning  of  July  4,  1863,  father  obtained  a  pass  from 
his  friend,  Adjutant-General  Rawlins,  who  was  General 
Grant's  chief  of  staff,  and  whose  tent  adjoined  that  of  his 


William  Henry  Wishard  77 

chief.  The  ticket  permitted  him  to  pass  all  guards,  and  to 
enter  the  city  of  Vicksburg  with  the  first  of  the  United  States 
soldiers.  He  did  not  wear  his  uniform  and  was  not  recognized 
as  a  northern  soldier.  While  walking  along  a  side  street,  be- 
fore many  of  the  solders  had  passed  into  the  city,  he  met  a 
southerner  with  his  arms  full  of  natural  leaf  tobacco,  which 
he  was  liberally  distributing,  and  offered  father  a  generous 
portion  with  the  remark,  "Take  all  you  want.  I  don't  want 
them Yankees  to  get  none." 

After  the  surrender  at  Vicksburg  a  confederate  soldier  ap- 
proached him  with  the  salutation,  "I  want  to  shake  the  hand 
of  a  man  who  bears  a  charmed  life."  "Why  do  you  say  that?" 
father  inquired,  to  which  the  man  replied,  'T  have  deliberately 
shot  at  you  every  morning  during  these  past  days  as  I  have  seen 
you  walking  over  the  ridge  to  your  field  hospital  by  the  short 
cut,  but  could  never  hit  you."  "That  explains  why  I  have 
heard  so  many  bullets  whizzing  past  my  ears,"  was  father's 
rejoinder.  As  a  surgeon  he  dressed  in  white,  and  each  morn- 
ing his  duties  took  him  to  the  military  hospital  which  he  could 
reach  from  his  regimental  headquarters  by  crossing  an  exposed 
area,  or  make  a  detour  of  half  a  mile.  He  took  the  short  cut, 
and  therefore  was  easy  to  sight  by  the  sharpshooters  who  had 
improved  their  opportunity  to  aim  at  him. 

A  war  souvenir  found  among  his  papers  is  a  copy  of  the 
Vicksburg  Daily  Citizen,  with  the  following  explanation  under 
the  title,  "Set  up  for  print,  July  2,  1863,  before  the  surrender 
to  Grant,  and  issued  by  his  order  July  4,  1863."  It  is  printed 
on  wall  paper,  eleven  by  seventeen  inches.  An  explanatory 
statement  adds  a  note  of  cheer  for  the  northern  soldiers,  some 
of  whom,  as  war  prisoners  of  the  confederacy,  had  set  the  type. 
"Two  days  bring  about  a  great  change.  The  banners  of  the 
Union  float  over  Vicksburg.  This  is  the  last  wall-paper  Citizen 
and  is,  excepting  this  note,  from  the  types  as  we  found  them." 


78  William  Henry  Wishaed 

The  war  items  were  all  favorable  to  the  cause  espoused  by 
the  south.  The  following  indicates  the  drift  of  them:  "The 
Yanks  outside  of  our  city  are  considerably  on  the  sick  list. 
Fever,  dysentery  and  disgust  are  their  companions  and  Grant 
their  master.  The  boys  are  deserting  daily  and  are  crossing 
the  river  in  the  region  of  Warrenton,  cursing  Grant  and  aboli- 
tionists generally."  On  the  side  of  that  unwarranted  an- 
nouncement appears  father's  penciled  denial,  "Not  so!"  He 
was  too  loyal  a  Unionist  to  allow  such  false  statements  to  go 
by  unchallenged. 

I  once  inquired  of  father  his  reason  for  not  uniting  with 
the  church  and  making  a  public  profession  of  his  faith  until 
he  was  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  reared  in  a  Christian  home  by  a  mother  of  exceptional 
piety.  He  replied  that  it  was  simply  putting  off  what  he  knew 
to  be  his  duty,  and  from  that  attitude  he  never  failed  to  warn 
others  not  to  make  the  mistake  he  did,  but  early  in  life  to 
take  what  he  deemed  a  vital  and  necessary  step.  The  influence 
of  a  Christian  wife  supplemented  that  of  a  devout  mother, 
and  as  father's  duties  as  a  physician  took  him  to  the  bedside 
of  the  dying  and  into  the  homes  of  sorrow,  he  began  to  realize 
that  other  obligations  than  healing  the  body  rested  upon  him. 
It  was  his  privilege  to  give  comfort  and  to  point  the  way  of 
life  to  darkened  souls,  but  how  could  he  act  in  a  post  so  sacred 
when  he  had  not  publicly  declared  his  allegiance  to  his  Heav- 
enly Father?  I  doubt  not  he  had  long  been  "reconciled  to 
God,"  but  he  was  slow  to  make  known  that  fact.  He  united 
with  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Greenwood  January  1,  1843. 

It  was  a  distinguishing  trait  with  him  to  do  whole-heartedly 
whatever  he  undertook ;  so  he  buckled  on  the  harness  of  church 
activities  and  went  to  work  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm.  A  pas- 
tor of  his  was  wont  to  say  there  was  no  need  of  having  the 
form  of  government  of  the  church  at  hand  to  refer  to  at  a 


William  Henry  Wishard  79 

meeting  of  the  session  when  father  was  present,  so  conversant 
was  he  with  the  rules  of  government  that  he  could  quote  what- 
ever authority  was  necessary.  He  could  not  only  give  a  reason 
for  his  faith,  but  could  tell  how  that  faith  was  interpreted  and 
accepted  by  his  church.  He  early  familiarized  himself  with 
its  doctrines  and  government  and  believed  they  should  be  ad- 
hered to.  He  had  little  sympathy  with  controversy,  or  the 
man  who  disagreed  with  the  teachings  of  his  own  denomina- 
tion and  remained  within  its  fold;  rather  he  felt  he  should 
withdraw  and  not  permit  himself  to  become  a  disturbing  ele- 
ment. 

He  loved  his  church ;  he  cherished  its  precepts  and  doctrines ; 
he  honored  its  history,  and,  like  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  be- 
lieved in  its  purifying  qualities.  The  latter,  in  defending  the 
tenets  of  Calvinism,  once  said :  "They  tell  us  Calvinism  plies 
men  with  hammer  and  chisel.  It  does,"  he  replied,  "and  the 
result  is  monumental  marble ;  white  marble,  to  endure  forever, 
and  has  no  equal  in  intensifying  to  the  last  degree  ideas  of 
moral  excellence  and  purity."  If  creed  influences  character, 
father  was  a  striking  example  of  the  strengthening  qualities 
of  the  one  adhered  to. 

He  had  a  capacity  for  remembering  dates,  and  one  he  never 
forgot  was  May  25,  1845,  the  day  he  was  ordained  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  church,  an  office  he  held  continuously  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  though  the  last  years  he  was  unable 
more  than  to  occupy  nominally  the  position,  but  the  Seventh 
Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  retained  him 
on  its  list  of  elders  in  recognition  of  his  many  years  of  unre- 
mitting service,  a  courtesy  and  honor  he  gratefully  accepted. 

Evidences  of  his  early  activity  in  church  affairs  remain  and 
attest  his  fidelity  in  many  directions.  In  the  published  history 
of  the  Greenwood  church  father's  name  appears  as  a  member 
of  the  building  committee   for  the  third  house  of  worship. 


80  William  Henry  Wishard 

erected  by  the  congregation  in  1852.  In  the  historical  rem- 
iniscences which  he  gave  at  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  organization  of  that  church,  in  which  h^  had  served  as 
elder  and  Sunday-school  superintendent  many  years,  the  keen 
interest  he  had  in  all  its  activities  is  manifested.  The  story 
of  his  identification  with  that  church  is  not  complete  without 
reference  to  his  friendship  for  the  Rev.  P.  S.  Cleland,  who 
was  the  pastor  while  he  was  a  member  of  it,  and  whom,  I  am 
sure,  he  loved  as  he  never  loved  any  other  friend,  big  as  was 
his  heart,  open  and  responsive  to  friendship.  The  reasons  for 
his  deep  affection  for  Mr.  Cleland  are  partly  told  in  his  own 
language  when  he  returned  to  participate  in  the  twenty-fifth 
anniversary  of  his  pastorate.  In  addressing  him  he  said, 
"Your  father  united  my  wife's  father  and  mother  in  marriage, 
you  married  us  and  baptized  all  of  our  children  and  have 
preached  the  funerals  of  those  who  are  dead.  I  was  hopefully 
converted  under  your  ministry  and  you  baptized  and  received 
me  into  the  fold  of  Christ."  It  may  be  added  that  Dr.  Thomas 
Cleland,  father  of  the  Rev.  P.  S.  Cleland,  baptized  all  the  chil- 
dren in  Grandfather  Moreland's  family.  To  the  very  last  the 
elder  cherished  fond  memories  of  his  pastor,  to  whom  he  often 
tenderly  referred.  Such  a  warm  and  enduring  tie  of  friend- 
ship is  rarely  found. 

In  the  role  of  elder,  father  was  drawn  into  the  larger  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  church.  His  appointment  as  a  commis- 
sioner to  the  New  School  General  Assembly,  which  met  in 
Philadelphia  in  May,  1846,  gave  him  the  opportunity  for  his 
first  trip  east.  The  journey  was  not  made  then  in  eighteen 
hours  from  Indianapolis  to  Philadelphia  in  a  Pullman,  as  it 
is  today.  The  various  modes  by  which  he  traveled  and  the 
changes  required  consumed  about  two  wrecks.  From  Green- 
wood he  drove  south  to  Columbus,  Ind.,  which  was  then  the 
northern  terminus  of  the  railroad  that  was  threading  its  way 


William  Henry  Wishaed  81 

from  Madison  to  Indianapolis.  At  Madison  he  took  an  Ohio 
river  boat  to  Pittsburg,  and  from  there  went  on  the  Monon- 
gahela  river  by  what  was  known  as  "slack-water  navigation" 
as  far  as  boats  could  go  and  met  the  stage  that  went  over  the 
Allegheny  mountains  to  Huntingdon,  Pa.,  at  which  point  he 
took  the  railroad  for  Philadelphia.  At  the  place  he  was  as- 
signed for  entertainment  he  met  and  spent  much  time  with  a 
young  minister  whose  brother,  Grover  Cleveland,  in  subse- 
quent years  became  president  of  the  United  States.  More  than 
twenty  years  later,  when  again  attending  a  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly,  father  was  walking  with  several  friends 
and  before  them  was  a  similar  group,  one  of  whom  stepped 
aside  and  waited  until  father  approached;  extending  his  hand 
he  cordially  exclaimed,  "I  recognized  that  hearty  laugh  of 
yours."  Looking  into  his  face,  he  saw  his  comrade  of  the 
Philadelphia  meeting,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cleveland.  Another  in- 
teresting man  whom  he  came  to  know  at  that  first  Assembly 
was  the  Rev.  Horace  Bushnell,  the  blind  city  missionary  of 
Cincinnati,  whose  son,  Horace  Bushnell,  Jr.,  afterward  be- 
came his  pastor  at  Southport. 

From  Philadelphia  he  went  by  rail  to  Baltimore  and  thence 
by  stage  to  Washington,  and  at  the  White  House  met  the 
president,  James  K.  Polk.  John  Quincy  Adams,  ex-president, 
was  then  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  congress,  and  he 
heard  him  speak  from  the  floor  and  later  was  introduced  to 
him.  Of  the  famous  men  who  were  members  of  the  senate  at 
that  time,  and  during  a  later  visit  father  made  to  the  capitol, 
he  listened  to  Henry  Clay  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  also  Daniel 
Webster,  of  whom  it  has  been  said  he  was  "unquestionably 
the  most  majestic  specimen  of  manhood  that  ever  trod  this 
continent." 

Previous  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1846,  that  body  had 
met  triennially,  but  at  that  session  an  overture  recommending 


82  William  Henry  Wishard 

annual  meetings  was  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  for  ap- 
proval, and  at  an  adjourned  meeting  held  in  Cincinnati  in 
1847,  where  father  again  represented  his  Presbytery,  an  af- 
firmative vote  was  received  from  the  Presbyteries,  but  not 
until  1849  did  the  change  go  into  effect.  It  was  his  privilege 
to  be  again  a  member  of  the  highest  court  of  his  church  at  a 
history-making  meeting.  He  sat  as  a  commissioner  in  the 
New  School  Assembly  which  met  in  New  York  in  1869,  simul- 
taneously with  the  Old  School  Assembly,  when  each  body 
voted  to  overture  its  Presbyteries  to  sanction  a  union,  and  both 
adjourned  to  meet  in  Pittsburg  in  November  of  the  same  year 
to  receive  the  decision  of  their  Presbyteries.  Only  one  New 
School  Presbytery  and  three  Old  School  Presbyteries  voted 
negatively  and  the  union  was  cemented  in  an  impressive  serv- 
ice, when  the  commissioners  from  each  Assembly  walked  in 
single  file,  and  at  the  church  chosen  for  the  reunion,  joined 
hands  and  entered.  As  the  lines  converged,  the  Old  School 
commissioner  who  joined  father  was  Judge  Ayres,  of  Fort 
Wayne,  Ind,  As  they  entered  the  church  the  following  hymn 
was  being  sung: 

"Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow ! 

The  gladly  solemn  sound ; 
Let  all  the  nations  know, 

To  earth's  remotest  bound. 
The  year  of  jubilee  is  come; 
Return,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  home," 

The  sentiment  expressed  by  the  last  line  provoked  a  smile 
from  all  the  participants  and  the  question  which  naturally 
came  to  their  minds  was,  who  were  the  ransomed  sinners? 
Father  always  referred  to  those  ecclesiastical  nuptials  as  one 
of  the  happiest  events  of  his  life.  There  was  no  more  joyful 
heart  in  the  throng  than  his,  when  "the  Old  and  New  grasp- 
ing each  other,  and  amidst  welcomes,  thanksgivings,  and  tears. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  83 

they  locked  arms  and  stood  together  in  their  reformed  rela- 
tions. The  moderator  called  on  Mr.  Robert  Carter,  ruling 
elder  from  New  York,  to  offer  prayer.  This  he  did  with 
great  unction,  and  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  occasion  the 
great  Assembly  melted  together  at  the  throne  of  grace," 

Of  the  messages  sent  to  mother  during  his  absence  while  at- 
tending the  Philadelphia  Assembly  in  1846,  one  letter  remains, 
which  was  written  on  the  boat  en  route  to  Pittsburg,  in  which 
he  said,  "We  have  been  detained  four  hours  repairing  the 
wheel,  which  was  injured  by  drift.  We  will  reach  Marietta 
before  ten  o'clock  tonight  and  Pittsburg  tomorrow  evening. 
W^e  have  a  pleasant  company  on  board,  a  fine  lot  of  ministers 
and  elders,  Mr.  Nice,  Mr.  Johnson,  Mr.  Dixon  and  family,  Mr. 
Bushnell  of  Cincinnati,  Doctor  Breckenridge  of  Louisville,  and 
others  from  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky  and  Illinois.  I  have  met 
several  old  friends  of  your  father.  Doctor  Allen  and  I  will 
go  to  Washington,  Mr.  Nice  and  Judge  Stephenson  will  go 
via  the  canal.  You  know  my  failing  and  I  feel  it  growing 
upon  me — that  is,  to  be  writing,  so  you  may  begin  calling  at 
the  postoffice.  The  boat  is  running  now  and  it  is  quite  a  strug- 
gle for  me  to  write.  Judge  Stephenson  is  at  my  elbow  dis- 
cussing slavery." 

Father  was  a  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  which 
met  in  Portland,  Ore.,  in  1892,  and  was  accompanied  on  the 
trip  by  my  mother,  after  they  had  celebrated  their  fiftieth 
wedding  anniversary.  The  last  time  he  served  in  the  capacity 
of  commissioner  was  at  the  Assembly  held  at  Winona  Lake, 
Ind.,  in  1905,  the  sixth  one  he  officially  attended.  Fifty-nine 
years  had  bridged  the  time  from  the  first  Assembly  he  at- 
tended to  the  last  one,  in  which  he  sat  with  his  youngest  son, 
who  represented  the  Minneapolis  Presbytery,  and  both  as- 
sisted in  the  administration  of  the  opening  communion. 

Father  was  a  passenger  on  the  first  train  that  ever  entered 


84  William  Henry  Wishard 

Indianapolis.  It  occurred  in  1847,  seventeen  years  after  his 
father-in-law  had  predicted  that  "the  railroad  would  reach  In- 
dianapolis in  less  than  twenty  years."  It  was  the  Madison  and 
Indianapolis  railroad.  He  boarded  the  train  at  Greenwood  and 
made  the  return  trip  from  Indianapolis  as  far  as  his  home 
town,  occupying  a  seat  with  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  the  most 
distinguished  preacher  who  ever  occupied  an  Indianapolis  pul- 
pit and  of  whom  President  Lincoln  said,  "The  most  marvelous 
thing  about  Mr.  Beecher  is  his  inexhaustible  fertility."  Mr. 
Beecher  was  then  leaving  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  to 
begin  his  long  pastorate  in  Plymouth  church,  Brooklyn,  New 
York.  He  carried  with  him,  securely  wrapped,  an  oil  portrait 
of  his  illustrious  father,  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  explaining  that 
he  wished  it  transferred  without  injury  and  therefore  pre- 
ferred taking  it  himself. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  that  crude  train,  which  gave  many  peo- 
ple their  first  view  of  a  steam  engine  and  train  of  coaches,  to 
the  present  day,  with  the  vestibule  limited  trains  composed  of 
luxurious  Pullmans,  and  interurban  lines  that  literally  cobweb 
the  state,  as  it  were,  connecting  nearly  every  county  seat  with 
Indianapolis,  which  was  the  first  city  in  the  world  to  have  a 
station  where  all  interurban  lines  focus. 

It  is  related  of  Judge  Charles  H.  Test,  one  of  Indiana's 
noted  jurists  of  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  that 
when  campaigning  for  congress  in  the  beginning  of  his  career 
he  took  occasion  to  inform  his  hearers  of  the  superior  advan- 
tages of  steam  as  a  propelling  power,  and  added,  "I  tell  you, 
fellow  citizens,  that  in  England  they  are  now  running  the  cars 
thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  they  will  yet  be  run  at  a  higher  speed 
in  America."  The  audience  answered  that  prophecy  with  an 
incredulous  ripple  of  laughter  and  one  man,  bolder  than  the 
rest,  shrieked  out,  "Are  you  crazy,  or  do  you  think  we  are  all 
fools?  A  man  could  not  live  a  minute  at  that  speed."    The  fol- 


William  Henry  Wishaed  85 

lowing  election  proved  that  the  voters  were  not  willing  to  trust 
so  visionary  a  lawmaker  as  the  judge,  and  his  opponent  won, 
of  whom  it  has  been  said,  he  "had  reason  to  wish  the  trains 
were  then  running,  as  it  took  him  seventeen  days  on  horseback 
to  reach  Washington." 

At  the  close  of  the  civil  war  father  left  the  farm  and  re- 
moved to  Southport,  seven  miles  south  of  Indianapolis,  where 
he  could  give  his  time,  undisturbed  by  other  interests,  to  his 
professional  duties,  and  remained  there  for  thirteen  years. 

Having  been  a  stalwart  Whig  in  politics  he  naturally  became 
an  adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  not  alone  from  inherited 
tendencies,  but  because  he  believed  it  to  be  the  party  that  stood 
for  the  highest  principles  in  government,  and  the  one  which 
was  most  potent  in  bringing  an  end  to  slavery,  a  cause  in  which 
he  was  actively  earnest  until  its  abolishment. 

The  long  years  of  unremitting  country  practice  had  made 
inroads  upon  his  naturally  robust,  sturdy  constitution,  and 
though  he  was  in  no  sense  a  politician,  or  ambitious  for  po- 
litical preferment,  when  the  suggestion  was  made  to  him  that 
he  allow  his  name  to  go  before  his  party,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  office  of  coroner  of  Marion  county,  he  felt  that  perhaps  it 
would  offer  the  opportunity  he  needed  to  lessen  his  activities 
and  lead  a  more  regular  life. 

The  year  1876  was  marked  by  one  of  the  fiercest  political 
contests  ever  waged  in  the  United  States.  Indiana  being  a 
pivotal  state,  like  New  York,  was  a  storm  center  of  the  strug- 
gle. Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  "Blue  Jeans  Williams," 
as  ex-Governor  Williams  was  commonly  known,  defeated 
Gen.  Benjamin  Harrison  for  governor,  the  republicans  carried 
Marion  county.  Political  methods  in  the  Hoosier  capital  at 
that  time  were  more  questionable  than  now,  open  as  they  still 
are  to  amelioration,  and  the  bitterness  engendered  by  the  civil 
war  had  not  been  entirely  overcome.     The  greenback  party 


86  William  Henry  Wishard 

was  at  its  height  and  IndianapoHs  was  emerging  from  an  over- 
grown county  seat  to  an  enterprising  city  of  promising  num- 
bers. Conditions  were  favorable  for  the  development  of  the 
political  boss,  but  amid  all  that  chaos  and  methods,  which  to- 
day would  be  severely  condemned,  father  stood  boldly  against 
any  taint  of  the  ballot.  His  uprightness  and  moral  stability 
no  doubt  had  much  to  do  in  bringing  about  his  nomination  and 
added  weight  to  the  ticket.  The  Indianapolis  Journal  of  Mon- 
day, March  13,  1876,  in  reporting  the  convention  of  the  pre- 
vious Saturday,  for  there  was  no  Sunday  edition  of  the  paper 
in  those  days,  said,  "Doctor  Wishard  was  declared  the  nom- 
inee and  in  response  to  repeated  calls  came  forth  and  made  de- 
cidedly the  speech  of  the  day.  He  said:  'Mr.  President  and 
Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — I  have  stood  while  shot  and 
shell  hailed  around  me,  but  I  never  felt  so  ner\'Ous  as  I  do  now. 
(Laughter.)  Then  I  faced  enemies,  and  now  friends.  I  thank 
you  for  the  nomination  and  I  will  say  to  you,  and  all  who  are 
concerned  in  this  matter,  that  I  went  in  for  this  nomination 
in  the  interests  of  the  republican  party,  and  I  said  to  every 
man,  and  to  my  opponents,  that  if  they  were  nominated  they 
would  receive  my  hearty  support,  and  a  man  is  no  man  at  all 
that  will  not  merge  his  personal  interest  in  the  great  cause. 
(Applause.)  It  is  an  old  adage,  Mr.  President,  and  a  true  one, 
that  "it  is  hard  to  teach  an  old  dog  new  tricks."  I  am  sixty 
years  of  age  and  never  was  a  candidate  before,  but  I  will  try 
to  adapt  myself  to  the  circumstances  the  best  I  can.  (Laughter 
and  continued  applause.)  One  word  more  and  I  will  step  off 
the  stage,  for  I  expect  to  see  you  in  some  other  comers  than 
this  during  the  campaign.  You  see  I  am  at  the  tail  of  the 
ticket.  I  hope  so  to  deport  myself  during  the  canvass,  and  to 
so  conduct  my  campaign,  that  if  those  who  lead  it  don't  look 
well  to  the  interests  of  the  party,  the  ides  of  October  will  say 
that  you  nominated  a  kangaroo  ticket — its  greatest  strength 


William  Heney  Wishaed  87 

was  in  the  tail.'  The  doctor's  sally  was  received  with  shouts 
of  applause  and  by  unanimous  consent  he  received  three  rous- 
ing cheers." 

The  Indianapolis  News  of  March  11,  1876,  spoke  of  him, 
editorially,  as  "known  as  a  man  of  unspotted  integrity." 
After  serving  two  years  he  expected  to  retire  from  office  and 
did  not  present  his  name  for  renomination.  From  the  report 
of  the  republican  convention  held  to  nominate  a  county  ticket 
the  following  is  taken  from  the  Journal,  March  4,  1878  :  "The 
candidates  for  coroner  were  quite  numerous,  but  on  the  second 
ballot  Doctor  Wishard,  who  now  holds  the  position,  and  who 
was  named  by  Doctor  Woodbum,  was  nominated  by  a  hand- 
some vote. 

"The  nomination  of  Doctor  Wishard  was  made  without  his 
knowledge  or  consent,  and  was  a  spontaneous  tribute  to  the 
doctor's  eminently  satisfactory  administration  of  the  office." 
His  election  the  following  autumn  gave  him  the  second  term, 
which  ended  his  tenure  of  office,  and  the  remaining  years  of 
his  activity  were  given  to  the  work  of  his  profession. 

Having  cast  his  first  political  vote  with  the  whig  party  in 
1840,  when  it  elected  Gen.  W.  H.  Harrison  to  the  presidency, 
father  was  eligible  to  membership  in  the  Tippecanoe  club,  an 
organization  that  was  composed  of  veterans  who  had  cast 
their  first  votes  for  President  Harrison  when  he  was  a  candi- 
date in  1836  and  1840.  The  club  was  organized  in  1876  to 
promote  the  election  of  Gen.  Benjamin  Harrison  as  governor, 
and  received  its  name  from  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  which 
was  fought  by  his  grandfather  in  1811.  While  there  were 
enough  survivors  to  hold  the  club  together  as  an  organization, 
father  was  an  active  participant  in  its  affairs,  and  for  some 
time  served  as  president. 

One  of  Indiana's  statesmen  whom  he  greatly  admired  and 
loved  was  the  Hon.  Richard  W.  Thompson,  who  served  in 


88  William  Henry  Wishard 

many  public  capacities,  notably  as  secretary  of  the  navy  in 
President  Hayes'  cabinet.  His  funeral,  which  father  attended, 
was  held  in  Terre  Haute,  February  12,  1900.  Arriving  in  time 
to  attend  the  memorial  service,  held  by  the  bar  association  of 
that  city,  he  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  listen  to  the 
eulogies  made  by  Colonel  Thompson's  professional  associates, 
but  being  recognized  by  the  presiding  officer  he  was  called  upon, 
and  in  the  following  tribute  expressed  the  esteem  in  which 
he  held  his  friend  of  many  years,  whose  life  had  run  along  the 
same  channels  as  his  own,  witnessing,  as  they  both  had,  the 
early  history-making  period  of  Indiana: 

"Mr.  President,  Gentlemen  of  the  Bar — It  does  seem  to  me 
a  little  out  of  place  to  call  on  a  doctor,  but  I  will  say  a  few 
words,  though  I  can  not  expect  to  entertain  after  the  eloquent 
words  that  have  been  spoken  here  today.  I  will  only  say  that 
Colonel  Thompson  was  my  senior  by  six  years,  and  I  have 
known  him  since  1835,  and  intimately  known  him  since  1840. 
In  that  great  campaign  of  1840  with  such  men  as  Jordan, 
James  Madison,  John  Marshall,  George  Clark,  Judah,  Mc- 
Carthy, Smith  and  Henry  S.  Lane,  it  was  said  by  Henry  Clay 
that  in  no  other  state  in  the  northwest  were  there  such  orators 
as  in  Indiana,  and  Richard  W.  Thompson  stood  in  the  front 
ranks. 

"I  could  enumerate  several  little  anecdotes  which  occurred 
between  us,  but  I  will  not  take  up  your  time.  He  was  a  rare 
public  speaker,  combining  wit,  eloquence  and  logic.  There  is 
not  one  man  out  of  a  hundred  who  is  a  public  speaker  who 
combines  those  traits  as  he  did. 

"He  has  done  what  few  men  have :  he  has  grown  old  grace- 
fully. In  that  respect  he  is  like  a  benediction  to  all  men.  Then 
I  can  say  another  thing  which  can  not  always  be  said  about 
public  men — I  am  very  sorry  for  it — throw  upon  his  life  a 


William  Henry  Wishaed  89 

searchlight  and  in  private  and  pubHc  Hfe  there  is  not  a  spot 
nor  a  blemish;  that  of  itself  is  a  crown  of  glory  to  any  man. 
We  belonged  to  the  same  club,  the  old  Tippecanoe  club,  organ- 
ized in  1876.    I  am  the  only  one  of  that  club  here  today. 

"Now  we  are  going  to  lay  away  a  great  and  good  man  who 
lived  a  life  pure  in  public  and  private.  All  honor  to  his  mem- 
ory!" 


90  William  Henry  Wishaed 


"God  sometimes  gives  to  a  man  a  guiltless 
and  holy  second  childhood,  in  which  the  soul 
becomes  childlike,  not  childish,  and  the  facul- 
ties, in  full  fruit  and  ripeness,  are  mellow  with- 
out  sign  of  decay.  This  is  that  sought-for  land, 
Beulah,  where  they  who  have  traveled  manfully 
the  Christian  way  abide  a  while  to  show  the 
world  a  perfect  manhood.  Life,  with  its  battles 
and  its  sorrows,  lies  far  behind  them;  the  soul 
has  thrown  off  its  armor  and  sits  in  an  evening 
of  calm  and  holy  undress.  Thrice  blessed  the 
family  or  neighborhood  that  numbers  among  it 
one  of  those  not  ascended  saints." 


AFTER  FOUR  SCORE  AND  TEN 

THE  "dead  line  of  fifty"  was  not  to  be  found  on  father's 
program  of  life.  A  remark  illustrates  his  conception  of 
the  length  of  time  a  man's  activities  should  continue.  After 
his  vision  had  become  too  dim  for  him  to  read  the  printed  page, 
there  was  read  to  him  an  account  of  the  death  of  a  friend,  to 
which  he  had  listened  with  interest,  and  when  it  was  finished  he 
inquired,  "How  old  was  he?"  and  the  answer  "seventy-two" 
was  given;  "Just  in  the  prime  of  life,"  he  observed.  Gauged 
by  his  own  experience  there  was  much  truth  in  his  rejoinder. 
"I  may  be  antiquated,  but  not  superannuated,"  was  the  way 
he  was  wont  to  define  his  position. 

Several  years  after  the  death  of  his  brother,  John,  he  was 
talking  with  a  nephew  and  inquired,  "How  old  was  your  father 
when  he  died?"  "Eighty-six,"  the  nephew  answered ;  to  which 
father  reflectively  replied,  "Oh,  yes.  I  thought  John  died 
rather  young." 

Another  incident  illustrates  his  perseverance  and  unwilling- 
ness to  forego  any  of  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  his  pro- 
fessional duties  brought  him  until  compelled  to  do  so  by 
physical  inability.  On  his  seventy-fifth  birthday  he  was  urged 
to  decline  night  calls,  to  which  he  replied,  "I  can't  afford  it." 
He  was  then  told  by  one  of  his  sons  if  he  would  compute  the 
total  of  all  night  calls  on  a  cash  basis  for  the  past  year  that 
he,  the  son,  would  give  him  a  check  for  this  amount  and  would 
hand  him  a  similar  one  on  each  succeeding  birthday  during  his 
life  if  he  would  omit  night  work.  He  straightened  up  and, 
with  some  scorn,  replied,  "I  decline  the  offer.  I  do  not  prac- 
tice medicine  for  the  love  of  money.  The  patients  who  call 
me  at  night,  in  many  instances,  pay  me  very  well,  some  pay 
little  and  some  nothing  at  all,  but  they  are  my  old  friends  and 

91 


92  William  Henry  Wishard 

patrons  and  they  would  not  like  it  if  I  did  not  respond  to  their 
calls  and  I  could  not  sleep  well  if  I  refused.  I  am  going  to 
continue  night  work  as  long  as  I  am  able."  And  he  did,  spend- 
ing an  entire  night  with  an  obstetrical  case  when  past  eighty- 
eight,  in  a  family  where  he  had  served  as  physician  for  four 
generations. 

It  was  not  until  after  his  eighty-eighth  birthday  that  father 
yielded  to  the  importunities  of  his  family  to  relinquish  his 
downtown  office.  The  slower  step  and  failing  eyesight,  the 
result  of  incipient  cataract,  made  us  apprehensive  as  to  his 
safety.  The  first  illness  that  marked  the  physical  decline  oc- 
curred not  long  before  the  date  for  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Indianapolis  Medical  Society,  when  he  was  to  give  his  address 
as  the  retiring  president.  In  compliment  to  his  advancing 
years  the  society  voted  to  defer  the  meeting  one  week  and 
assemble  at  his  home,  when  he  could  give  his  farewell  mes- 
sage and  have  the  opportunity  of  meeting  socially  his  profes- 
sional friends,  which  had  always  been  a  source  of  great  joy 
to  him.  Very  opportunely  the  adjourned  meeting  came  Jan- 
uary 17,  1905,  his  eighty-ninth  birthday,  and  was  presided 
over  by  Dr.  F.  C.  Heath,  who,  one  year  previous,  had  nom- 
inated father  for  the  office  of  president  which  he  had  just  va- 
cated. It  is  the  custom  of  the  society  not  to  have  any  meeting 
during  the  holiday  week  that  closes  the  calendar  3^ear,  but  the 
power  of  habit  was  strong  with  father  and  he  went  on  Tues- 
day night  of  that  week,  1904,  overlooking  the  fact  that  there 
was  no  meeting  that  particular  night. 

His  mistake  inspired  Doctor  Heath  to  write  the  following 
lines,  in  which  he  facetiously  placed  his  name  in  nomination: 

You  may  have  heard  what  did  befall — 
Last  week  we  did  not  meet  at  all. 
A  friend  of  ours,  from  habit  strong, 
Could  do  naught  else  but  come  along. 


William  Henry  Wishard  93 

His  Tuesday  nights  e'er  found  him  here — 
He  found  us  gone.   'Twas  very  queer; 
But  such  a  virtue  as  to  come 
When  all  of  us  remained  at  home 
Was  due  to  habits  such  as  make 
Our  friend  the  man  that  none  forsake, 
The  man  of  virtue  eminent — 
And  he  should  be  our  president. 
So  vote  for  Wishard,  senior,  men, 
The  man  who  through  his  life  has  been 
Doctor  of  father,  mother,  son. 
And  father  of  doctors,  more  than  one; 
A  man  of  years  four  score  and  eight, 
That  rest  on  him  so  light  a  weight 
That  he  still  seems  right  in  his  prime, 
With  heart  so  young — defying  time. 
May  he  live  long,  a  hundred  years ; 
Be  free  from  pain  and  free  from  fears; 
The  friend  of  all  who  seek  the  right — 
Give  him  unanimous  vote  tonight! 

It  was  at  the  adjourned  meeting  following  the  close  of  his 
year's  service  as  president  that  the  medical  society  presented 
him  with  the  parchment  scroll  that  is  beautifully  embellished 
in  color  which  unfortunately  can  not  be  reproduced  in  the 
original  colors. 

The  January  Bulletin  of  the  society  commented  upon  the 
meeting  as  follows  : 

"The  Indianapolis  Medical  Society  has  been  happy  in  its 
choice  of  officers,  but  none  in  the  list  was  ever  more  uni- 
versally loved  than  our  retiring  president,  Dr.  William  H. 
Wishard.  His  kindly  nature,  wise  counsels,  broad  charity, 
harmonizing  influence,  sympathetic  disposition,  fatherly  inter- 
est and  encouragement  in  the  progress  and  welfare  of  us  all 
have  been  an  inspiration  and  a  benediction.  It  has  caused  uni- 
versal regret  that  sickness  should  have  deprived  us  recently  of 
his  valued  presence  at  the  society,  and  that  one  so  deserving 
of  all  the  best  in  life  should  suffer  pain.     We  earnestly  hope 


94  William  Henry  Wishard 

X©  «*>«  vbofT)  ve  all  deiljbt  to  bof>or 

Greetings 


on  Ws  bis  89tb  b!rtb<Iay. 

Pi  Is  b*5  bttn  a  lift  of  lov!n$  service  to  b'S 

fcilown)«o. 
1*1  is  faitb  in  buniapity  b»J  been  ejj  forpiratioo 

to  ail  conoinsr  ii7  cootaci  vitb  bi«n. 
\J  ut  of  bis  dally  life  bay  enjanatcd  get>eF05ity, 

cbar!ty>  good  cbeer  and  radi&iH  opUn^isrc. 
Qooshujt  io  frler»dsbip»  steadfast  io  *iK 

pcrfornjaoce  of  duty,  uosvtrviijg  !ij 
loyaiiy  to  bis  belief  io  Qod  end 

lR)mortality--be  baj  lived  we!!. 
|n  bis  cbosen  profession,  be  was  tbe 

syrnpatbetic  fricod,  wise  couosf«iior, 

aod  jKillful  pbys»c?ao. 

Xbls  li>  toHeo  of  our  re$p«ci  aod  lov^  to 


Tommafis 


Prort) 
Tbe  ludianapolia  /*\ediciil  Society. 


January  l7tM905. 


Secretory. 


and  pray  that  he  may  be  spared  to  bless  us  with  his  counsel 

and  helpful  companionship  for  many  years. 

"He  has  rendered  such  service  by  his  life  among  us  and  as 

our  revered  president  that  we  may,  not  unfittingly,  address  to 

him  the  words  of  Longfellow  to  his  beloved  teachers  at  Bow- 

doin: 

'Honor  and  reverence  and  the  good  repute, 
That  follows  faithful  service  as  its  fruit, 
Be  unto  you,  whom  living,  we  salute.' " 


William  Henry  Wishard  95 

Father  was  privileged  to  attend  but  one  other  meeting  of 
the  society,  when  again  the  date  was  the  same  as  that  of  his 
birthday.  It  was  his  ninety-fifth  milestone,  when,  after  a  full 
afternoon  receiving  friends  who  remembered  the  occasion  and 
called  to  congratulate  him,  and  entertaining  a  small  circle  for 
dinner,  an  invitation  came  from  the  president  to  go  to  the 
meeting;  he  responded  with  his  old-time  buoyancy  and  ex- 
pressed his  eager  wish  to  accept.  A  heavy  snow  had  fallen 
that  day  and  the  night  was  so  stormy  that  a  less  courageous 
spirit  would  have  faltered;  but  not  he  who  had  faced  wind 
and  many  blizzards  in  the  heyday  of  life.  On  entering  the 
room  he  was  invited  to  the  platform  when  the  president,  Dr. 
A,  C.  Kimberlin,  graciously  handed  him  the  gavel  with  the  re- 
quest that  he  preside  over  the  deliberations  of  the  meeting, 
which  the  hidianapolis  Medical  Journal,  in  telling  of  the  meet- 
ing, said  "he  did  with  a  good  deal  of  vigor,  putting  motions 
and  rendering  decisions  with  apparent  zest  and  pleasure." 
During  the  evening  Dr.  Theodore  Potter  presented  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  was  unanimously  passed  by  a  rising  vote, 
and  to  which  father  responded  with  evident  feeling  and  grati- 
tude : 

Resolved,  That  the  Indianapolis  Medical  Society  hereby  ex- 
presses its  pleasure  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard 
at  this  meeting,  congratulates  him  and  his  family  on  his  ninety- 
fifth  birthday,  and  in  respect  and  affection  wishes  him  con- 
tinued health  and  happiness. 

On  the  day  following,  the  annual  midwinter  meeting  of  the 
council  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association  occurred  at 
the  Columbia  club,  Indianapolis,  and  the  following  resolutions 
introduced  by  Dr.  G.  W.  H.  Kemper,  of  Muncie,  were  unani- 
mously passed : 

Whereas,  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard  only  yesterday,  January 
17,   1911,  celebrated  his  ninety-fifth  birthday,  and  inasmuch 


96  William  Henry  Wishard 

as  Doctor  Wishard  was  a  member  of  our  State  Medical  Con- 
vention in  1849,  has  been  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  So- 
ciety since  1850,  and  our  State  Medical  Association  since  the 
change  of  name,  and  as  he  is  the  sole  survivor  of  that  band  of 
noble  physicians,  eighty-four  in  number,  who  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  our  State  Medical  Association,  and  has  always  been 
loyal  to  our  association,  ethical  at  all  times,  a  valuable  con- 
tributor to  our  medical  literature  of  the  state,  and  now  at  this 
advanced  age  is  a  type  of  the  old  and  new  physician,  and  his 
character  is,  and  always  has  been,  so  Christianlike  and  noble; 
therefore. 

Resolved,  That  this  council,  now  in  session,  extends  its  kind 
wishes,  love  and  congratulations  to  Doctor  Wishard,  and  that 
we  express  the  hope  for  his  good  health,  comfort,  peace  and 
joy  during  the  remainder  of  his  natural  life. 

It  was  in  October  of  the  previous  year,  1910,  that  he  was 
present  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical 
Association  held  in  Indianapolis,  when  he  was  again  taken  un- 
awares. He  was  invited  to  sit  by  the  president,  who  chanced 
to  be  his  never-failing  friend.  Doctor  Heath,  who,  turning  to 
him  after  the  formal  opening,  requested  that  he  extend  the 
welcome  on  behalf  of  the  local  society  to  the  more  than  six 
hundred  doctors  who  were  in  attendance.  The  last  message 
be  received  from  his  friends  of  the  state  association  was  only 
a  few  weeks  before  the  earthly  ministry  ceased.  The  meeting 
was  held  at  French  Lick,  October,  1913,  from  which  point  he 
received  the  following  telegram:  "The  sixty-fourth  annual 
session  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association  sends  you, 
its  only  charter  member,  greetings  and  best  wishes."  He  was 
ever  grateful  for  all  the  consideration  and  deference  shown 
to  him  by  his  medical  and  church  friends,  as  well  as  all  whose 
kindly  attentions  brought  cheer  and  comfort. 

Doctor  Heath  again  gave  evidence  of  his  devotion  to  father 
in  the  tribute  he  paid  him  when  he  was  asked  to  present  an  oil 


William  Henry  Wishaed  97 

portrait  of  him  to  the  Indianapolis  Medical  Society,  January 
16,  1906,  the  night  before  father  reached  his  ninetieth  birth- 
day.   In  doing  so  Doctor  Heath  said,  in  part : 

"Born  not  to  riches  and  idleness,  but  to  a  life  of  work  and 
care,  our  beloved  friend.  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard,  the  nestor 
of  Indiana  medicine,  has  achieved  a  success  higher  than  that 
of  worldly  fame  or  princely  riches — an  enduring  character — 
a  career  of  usefulness  to  humanity,  an  influence  for  good 
among  his  fellowmen  that  knows  no  bounds  of  time  or  space. 

"In  his  professional  life  of  sixty-six  years  he  has  shirked 
no  duty,  but  answered  to  the  sufferer's  call  with  little  thought 
of  self  or  ease  or  fee.  He  has  gone  about  quietly  doing  good 
in  the  footsteps  of  the  Great  Physician. 

'Such  is  our  friend — formed  on  the  good  old  plan — 
A  true  and  brave  and  downright  honest  man ! 
His  daily  prayer,  far  better  understood 
In  acts  than  words,  is  simply  doing  good.' 

"In  public  life  the  same  unselfishness  appears.    . 

"It  is  not  strange  that  such  a  man  should  be  honored  by  his 
associates  in  the  great  profession  of  medicine,  for  he  alone 
has  the  distinction  of  having  been  president  and  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association  and  the  In- 
dianapolis Medical  Society,  both  of  which  organizations  have 
at  different  times  given  other  tokens  of  their  esteem  and  ven- 
eration for  his  worth. 

"These  circumstances  and  the  urgent  pleading  of  prominent 
members  of  this  society  led  his  family  to  have  his  portrait 
painted  by  our  artist  townsman,  T.  C.  Steele,  and  to  bring  it 
here  to  you  tonight,  not  only  as  a  tribute  of  love  to  him  but 
as  a  mark  of  his  attachment  to  us. 

"This  picture,  as  you  see,  has  a  casement  which  will  forever 
prevent  the  entrance  of  dust — is  that  not  typical  of  the  strong 


98  William  Henry  Wishard 

character  that  has  kept  his  noble  soul  pure  and  stainless 
through  his  long  and  active  life? 

"Speaking  for  his  family,  and  his  younger  friends  here  who 
have  learned  to  feel  as  adopted  sons  at  least,  we  present  this 
picture  to  you,  with  just  family  pride  in  his  life  at  home,  in  the 
profession  and  in  the  world  at  large,  feeling  that  while  his 
presence  in  the  hearts  of  all  is  secure,  it  will  be  well  and  pleas- 
ing to  have  always  looking  down  upon  us  that  strong,  kindly 
face,  with  its  influence  for  peace,  for  virtue,  and  for  hope." 

Dr.  John  H.  Oliver,  as  president,  received  the  portrait  on 
behalf  of  the  society,  speaking  feelingly  of  his  affection  for 
father,  who  had  been  a  lifelong  friend  and  associate  of  his 
father. 

It  was  a  great  deprivation  to  father  when  the  infirmities  of 
age  denied  him  regular  attendance  upon  the  church  services, 
which  included  the  weekly  prayer  meeting,  when,  unless  de- 
tained by  professional  duties  he  could  not  control,  his  seat  was 
never  vacant.  This  loss  was  largely  compensated  to  him  in 
the  unusual  privileges  extended  by  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  which  is  equipped  with  an  acousticon  that  has  con- 
nection with  the  telephone.  Thus  science  stepped  in  and  sup- 
plemented the  limitations  of  the  flesh,  and  he  was  privileged 
to  hear  his  dear  friend  of  many  years.  Dr.  M.  L.  Haines,  and 
other  preachers  who  occupied  the  pulpit  from  time  to  time,  as 
well  as  prominent  laymen  and  missionaries  who  came  to  speak 
on  themes  of  general  interest.  Sitting  in  an  easy  chair,  with 
his  arm  resting  on  the  table  that  supported  the  telephone  re- 
ceiver, he  was  able  to  enjoy  all  the  Sunday  services,  and  when- 
ever his  strength  permitted  regularly  "went  to  church,"  as  he 
expressed  it,  morning  and  evening.  The  First  church  was  the 
first  one  in  Indianapolis  to  install  the  system  whereby  those 
whose  lifelong  habits  were  interrupted  could  enjoy,  in  the 
quiet  of  their  own  rooms,  the  services  that  in  other  days  had 


William  Henry  Wishard  99 

been  their  meat  and  drink.  He  was  passionately  fond  of  the 
old  hymns  and  one  of  the  modem  innovations  that  especially 
gratified  him  was  the  Victrola.  By  means  of  it  he  listened  al- 
most daily  to  the  melodies  it  reproduced,  and  so  entranced 
would  he  become  that  he  seemed  lost  to  all  his  surroundings 
and  would  frequently  attempt  to  raise  his  voice  and  join  in 
the  familiar  strains. 

He  was  strict  in  his  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and  illus- 
trated his  attitude  on  the  subject  by  relating  an  incident  that 
left  a  strong  impression  upon  his  mind.  When  a  young  man 
he  made  a  trip  by  wagon  to  Iowa.  The  party  he  was  tour- 
ing with  shared  their  camp  for  a  few  nights  with  another 
company  of  men,  who,  when  Sunday  came,  declined  to  tarry, 
saying  they  could  not  afford  to  waste  time  and  must  push  on. 
Father  and  his  friends  went  to  the  nearest  church,  where  they 
were  cordially  welcomed  and  invited  to  dine  with  members 
of  the  congregation.  They  had  not  pursued  their  journey 
very  far  the  next  day  when  they  overtook  the  other  men  who 
had  been  detained  by  various  mishaps  and  were  so  delayed 
they  saw  them  no  more.  He  and  his  friends  completed  their 
trip  in  safety,  and  he  never  forgot  the  lesson  of  obedience  to 
divine  law  which  that  experience  taught  him.  The  same  rules 
for  the  Sabbath  were  applied  in  the  home.  The  piano  was 
never  opened  unless  to  be  used  for  sacred  music. 

Father  did  not  belong  to  any  lodges  or  fraternities,  but 
was  a  loyal  meml>er  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and 
constant  in  his  attendance  upon  the  stated  meetings  of  the 
George  H.  Chapman  Post  until  failing  health  prevented  him 
from  going  out  evenings.  He  served  many  years  as  surgeon 
in  chief  and  again  as  chaplain  of  that  post. 

Despite  our  earnest  efforts  to  shield  him  from  the  calls  of 
old  friends,  who  had  for  years  been  his  patients  and  were  un- 
willing to  relinquish  his  professional  attentions,  they  would 


100  William  Henry  Wishard 

occasionally  come  to  the  house  for  consultation  or  advice  as 
to  the  selection  of  another  physician  or  some  line  of  treatment 
that  had  been  prescribed.  One  day  a  stranger  appeared  at 
the  door  and  inquired  for  father.  After  being  ushered  into 
his  presence  she  expressed  her  desire  to  have  him  diagnose 
her  trouble  and  prescribe,  proffering  the  information  that  Dr. 
P.  H.  Jameson  had  been  her  physician  for  many  years,  but 
had  grown  so  old  she  felt  unwilling  to  longer  trust  herself 
in  his  care.  Without  betraying  the  joke  he  was  enjoying  at 
the  expense  of  one  of  his  best  friends  and  old  associates,  he 
proceeded  to  give  the  desired  relief,  evidently  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  patient,  for  she  continued  coming  until  improved 
in  health,  never  suspecting  that  her  last  medical  adviser  was 
nine  years  the  senior  of  the  one  she  had  left  because  of  her 
fears  that  age  had  in  some  measure  incapacitated  him  for  skil- 
ful treatment. 

He  was  frequently  sought  after  for  old  settlers'  meetings 
and  newspaper  interviews  by  those  who  wished  reminiscences 
that  he  could  recall.  He  attended  an  old  settlers'  meeting  at 
Broad  Ripple  after  he  had  passed  his  ninety-second  birthday. 
An  announcement  of  the  meeting  had  been  read  to  him,  but  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  program.  Remembering  the  day,  he  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  attend.  When  he  reached  the  picnic 
grounds  the  presiding  officer  saw  him  approaching  and  im- 
mediately came  down  and  invited  him  to  occupy  a  seat  on  the 
platform  with  other  old  citizens,  men  and  women,  not  one 
of  whom  antedated  father  in  years.  It  was  not  long  until  the 
chairman  announced  that  the  next  feature  of  the  program 
would  be  speeches  on  the  "Customs  of  life  of  the  early  set- 
tlers," and,  turning  about,  added,  "Our  first  speaker  will  be 
Doctor  Wishard,"  and  so  again  he  was  taken  by  surprise,  but 
with  characteristic  readiness  he  arose  and  spoke  along  the  lines 
suggested  to  his  mind  by  the  topic.   The  day  passed  agreeably 


William  Henry  Wishard  101 

to  him  and  he  entered  into  all  its  pleasures  with  the  zest  and 
enthusiasm  of  a  school  boy,  renewing  old  friendships  and  liv- 
ing over  again  the  days  of  yore  so  fraught  with  happy  asso- 
ciations. After  we  started  homeward  he  drew  from  his  pocket 
a  five-dollar  gold  piece,  saying  it  was  awarded  to  him  by  the 
judges  for  making  the  best  speech  on  the  subject  assigned. 
He  was  not  avv^are  any  such  remuneration  was  to  be  given 
until  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  arrangements  placed 
the  coin  in  his  hands  just  before  our  departure.  It  goes  with- 
out saying  that  he  appreciated  the  honor,  but  I  think  he  was 
ever  afterward  doubtful  as  to  his  right  of  possession.  He 
was  not  given  to  entering  competitive  races,  and  to  win  money 
as  a  prize  was  foreign  to  his  moral  code. 

At  one  time  when  the  apartment  to  which  he  was  called  to 
visit  a  patient  was  accessible  only  by  a  long  flight  of  stairs 
he  lost  his  footing  as  he  attempted  to  descend  and  in  the  fall 
received  painful  bruises.  Refusing  the  kind  offers  of  friends 
to  assist  him  home,  he  went  to  see  another  patient  and  when 
he  finally  returned  he  made  no  mention  of  the  accident.  The 
next  morning  the  pain  became  so  acute  that  he  no  longer 
could  conceal  it,  and  when  a  physician  was  summoned  he  dis- 
covered two  broken  ribs.  By  much  persuasion  he  was  in- 
duced to  remain  indoors,  but  only  a  few  days. 

When  visiting  in  the  home  of  my  brother  in  Minneapolis 
in  1910,  he  one  day  sought  the  ease  of  a  swinging  porch 
chair,  which  he  had  been  warned  to  avoid,  with  the  result  that 
the  chair  turned  completely  over  and  he  alighted  on  his  shoul- 
der. After  being  assisted  to  the  couch,  and  he  had  somewhat 
recovered  from  the  shock,  he  placed  his  hand  over  his  collar 
bone,  suavely  remarking,  "I  am  afraid  I  have  fractured  a 
bone."  An  investigation  confirmed  his  fears  and  for  three 
weeks  he  was  forced  to  lie  in  bed,  but  so  complete  was  his 
recovery  and  the  union  of  the  broken  bone,  that  he  never  suf- 


102  William  Henry  Wishard 

fered  any  after  effects  or  discomfort  when  using  his  shoulder. 

A  year  previous  to  that  experience  he  was  stricken  with 
what  the  attending  physicians  were  apprehensive  would  prove 
to  be  complete  paralysis.  Orders  were  given  that  at  the  first 
sign  of  returning  consciousness  and  ability  to  swallow,  liquid 
nourishment  should  be  given  to  him.  The  next  morning  the 
nurse,  obedient  to  directions,  gave  him  a  cup  of  warm  broth, 
which  at  first  he  accepted  in  an  indifferent  manner.  When 
he  had  taken  all  of  it  he  inquired,  "What  was  that?"  to  which 
she  jocularly  replied,  "Oh!  just  an  eye-opener."  "Now  bring 
me  a  stomach  filler,"  he  retorted.  His  sense  of  humor  and 
ready  wit,  which  enabled  him  to  see  the  ludicrous  side  of  a 
situation,  stood  him  well  in  hand  in  old  age  as  it  had  during 
trying  professional  experiences.  He  enjoyed  telling  of  the 
man  who  once  asked  him  if  he  did  not  regret  growing  so  old. 
"No  indeed!  there  are  men  who  would  give  all  they  possess 
to  be  assured  they  will  live  as  long  as  I  have,"  was  his  logi- 
cal reply.  He  valued  too  highly  the  blessing  of  years  to 
darken  their  close  with  idle  regrets. 

Life  to  him  never  lost  its  flavor.  When  he  returned  from 
a  prolonged  visit  in  Minneapolis  he  was  speaking  about  it  one 
day,  telling  of  the  pleasures  he  derived  from  it,  but  added, 
*T  am  glad  to  be  home  again,  for  I  have  a  great  deal  to  live 
for."  To  be  able  to  relate  oneself  to  life  in  that  spirit  at 
ninety-four  obviously  requires  vigor  that  yields  reluctantly  to 
the  unrelenting  progress  of  physical  decay. 

A  few  weeks  before  he  celebrated  his  ninetieth  birthday, 
an  event  that  was  observed  when  relatives  and  friends  gath- 
ered in  celebration  of  the  anniversary  and  messages  from  ab- 
sent ones  added  to  the  pleasures  of  it,  father  attended  a  "home- 
coming day"  of  the  Southport  Presbyterian  church,  when 
former  members  from  afar  returned  to  join  with  the  present 
ones  in  honoring  the  reunion.    For  half  an  hour  he  stood 


William  Henry  Wishard  103 

and  in  a  happy  vein  recounted  many  of  the  incidents  of  the 
days  when  he  was  identified  with  that  church,  speaking  in 
grateful  remembrance  of  those  who  had  worked  side  by  side 
with  him  as  standard  bearers. 

Father  enjoyed  the  unusual  distinction  of  having  personally 
known  the  twenty-seven  governors  of  Indiana  whose  terms 
of  office  spanned  his  earthly  pilgrimage.  When  a  boy  he  was 
introduced  to  William  Henr}^  Harrison,  the  territorial  gov- 
ernor. He  was  never  averse  to  having  it  known  that  he  was 
eleven  months  older  than  his  adopted  state.  Governor  Ral- 
ston, the  last  one  of  that  number,  honored  him  with  a  call 
when  he  was  unable  to  leave  his  room.  The  conversation 
turned  toward  a  discussion  of  father's  impressions  of  the 
governor's  predecessors,  about  whom  the  latter  made  inquiry. 
Later  it  centered  upon  church  affairs  and  father  was  pleased 
to  find  that  Governor  Ralston  had  served  as  an  elder.  "I 
have  observed,"  the  latter  remarked,  "that  a  high  grade  Dem- 
ocratic speech  comes  nearer  matching  a  good  Presbyterian  ser- 
mon than  anything  I  can  liken  it  to."  The  challenge  was  too 
great  to  be  passed  unanswered.  'T  have  never  been  able  to 
detect  any  resemblance,"  was  father's  good-natured  response. 

His  reminiscences  of  the  early  governors  were  entertain- 
ingly related  to  a  reporter  and  published  in  the  Indianapolis 
Star  of  March  1,  1908.  By  way  of  introduction  the  reporter 
said,  "There  are  men  living  in  Indiana  who  enjoyed  close  and 
confidential  relations  with  former  governors  of  the  state  and 
whose  personal  recollections  of  the  chief  executives,  with 
whom  they  were  severally  acquainted,  are  of  absorbing  inter- 
est. Doctor  Wishard  is  a  most  remarkable  man.  He  is  in  his 
92d  year  and  his  mind  is  clear  as  a  bell.  His  memory  stretches 
back  to  Jonathan  Jennings,  the  first  governor  of  the  State  of 
Indiana,  who  was  the  chief  executive  from  1816  to  1822." 

"I  was  a  small  child,"  said  Doctor  Wishard,  "When  Jona- 


104  William  Henry  Wishard 

than  Jennings  stopped  one  night  at  my  father's  house  on  the 
Bluff  road,  south  of  Indianapolis.  He  was  on  an  electioneer- 
ing tour  and  I  remember  that  he  was  a  very  genial  old  fellow. 
William  Hendricks  I  knew  as  a  man  of  great  moral  worth. 

"I  shall  never  forget  James  Brown  Ray,  who  was  acting 
governor  from  February  12  to  December  11,  1825,  and  gov- 
ernor in  his  own  right  from  1825  to  1831.  In  those  times 
the  gubernatorial  term  was  three  years.  Ray  wore  a  queue 
and  was  an  aristocrat  of  the  first  water.  He  had  an  idea  of 
his  own  importance  that  often  made  him  ridiculous,  although 
he  was  a  man  of  ability.  While  he  was  governor  a  young 
man  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  for  participating  in  the  mur- 
der of  some  squaws  in  Madison  county.  The  day  of  the  exe- 
cution came  around  and  a  large  crowd  assembled  near  Pendle- 
ton to  witness  his  plunge  into  eternity.  There  were  some  ex- 
tenuating circumstances  and  the  governor  had  been  giving 
serious  thought  to  his  duty  in  the  premises. 

"At  4  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  young 
man  was  to  pay  the  death  penalty,  Governor  Ray  called  for 
his  horse  and  put  off  on  horseback  to  the  place  of  hanging. 
He  arrived  just  as  the  noose  was  being  slipped  over  the  vic- 
tim's neck.  He  immediately  called  a  halt,  and,  while  the  mul- 
titude waited  breathlessly,  he  drew  himself  up  to  his  full 
height  and  said :  'Young  man,  there  are  only  two  beings  in 
the  whole  universe  that  can  save  you.  One  is  God  Almighty 
and  the  other  is  James  Brown  Ray,  governor  of  Indiana.  God 
Almighty  is  not  present,  but  James  Brown  Ray  is  here.  I 
therefore  commute  your  sentence  and  commit  you  to  the  pen- 
itentiary for  life.'  That  dramatic  incident  left  an  indelible 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  all  who  witnessed  it.  After- 
ward Governor  Ray  pardoned  the  young  culprit.  The  terrors 
of  the  scaffold  unbalanced  his  mind,  and,  if  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, he  died  in  a  madhouse. 


William  Henry  Wishard  105 

"I  was  well  acquainted  with  Noah  Noble,  who  was  govern- 
or from  1831  to  1837.  I  knew  him  when  he  was  receiver  of 
the  land  office,  prior  to  his  election  as  governor.  He  was  a 
tall,  genial  and  hospitable  man  and  possessed  such  a  gift  of 
magnetism  that  it  was  said  he  could  win  over  the  bitterest 
democrat  by  a  shake  of  his  hand.  His  popularity  always  gave 
him  strength  beyond  that  of  his  party.  The  Black  Hawk  war 
broke  out  in  1832  when  he  was  governor.  My  father,  John 
Wishard,  was  colonel  of  the  Fifty-seventh  Regiment  of  state 
militia.  He  was  plowing  and  I  was  hoeing  corn  when  a  mes- 
senger arrived  at  our  old  home  place  bearing  a  message  from 
the  governor  calling  out  troops.  Father  at  once  went  to 
the  different  captains  of  his  regiment  and  appointed  a  day 
when  they  should  rally  their  men  at  Greenwood.  When  the 
day  arrived  father  addressed  them  and  announced  that  the 
governor  expected  him  to  raise  a  company  of  mounted  rifle- 
men from  among  the  men  of  his  regiment.  He  then  ordered 
the  fife  and  drum  corps  to  start  on  a  parade  around  the  regi- 
ment and  requested  all  who  wanted  to  volunteer  to  fall  in  be- 
hind. He  was  the  first  to  volunteer.  He  was  elected  captain. 
Samuel  Herriott,  a  brother  of  Congressm.an  Overstreet's 
grandmother,  was  elected  second  lieutenant.  The  company 
marched  to  Indianapolis  and  joined  three  other  companies  that 
had  been  recruited  here.  Father  wore  his  military  coat,  but 
it  was  decided  that  uniforms  would  be  a  menace  in  fighting 
redskins.  He  thereupon  discarded  his  bright-colored  military 
clothes  and  borrowed  a  coat  of  Morris  Morris,  father  of  Gen- 
eral Tom  Morris.  He  left  his  own  coat  here  and  went  to  war 
in  the  borrowed  Coat. 

"Governor  Samuel  Bigger  was  one  of  the  purest  men  in 
morals  that  Indiana  ever  produced.  He  was  a  conservative 
man  of  unblemished  character. 

*T  shall  never  forget  my  first  meeting  with  James  Whit- 


106  William  Henry  Wishard 

comb.  He  was  then  a  prosecuting  attorney.  He  had  been  in 
Indianapolis  on  law  business,  and  was  en  route  to  his  home  at 
Bloomington  on  horseback.  His  horse  foundered,  and  he 
stopped  at  our  house  and  borrowed  a  horse  of  father  to  con- 
tinue the  journey.  He  was  a  shrewd  politician.  He  was  a 
musician  and  an  expert  violin  player.  Governor  Joseph  A. 
Wright  was  a  Methodist,  and  a  mighty  clever,  genial  soul. 
He  was  buried  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Ashbel  P.  Willard  was  a 
brilliant  man,  but  somewhat  erratic. 

"Henry  S.  Lane  was  a  product  of  Carlisle,  Ky.,  where  I 
spent  my  early  years,  and  I  knew  his  family  there.  He  had  a 
brother  at  Carlisle  who  was  a  doctor  and  a  sort  of  wag.  In 
those  days  tight  lacing  was  all  the  vogue  among  women.  One 
of  the  good  sisters  laced  so  tight  that  she  fainted  in  church. 
Dr.  Lane,  who  happened  to  be  in  attendance  at  the  service, 
was  quick  to  detect  the  cause  of  the  lady's  discomfiture. 
While  she  lay  unconscious  he  whipped  out  his  jack-knife  and 
cut  her  laces,  which  popped  like  a  gun.  In  a  short  time  she 
revived.  Henry  S.  Lane  was  more  sober  minded  than  his 
brother  and  I  doubt  whether  he  ever  had  an  equal  as  an  elec- 
tioneer." 

"But  few  people,"  continued  Doctor  Wishard,  "know  what 
a  debt  of  gratitude  the  world  owes  to  David  Wallace,  who  was 
governor  of  Indiana  from  1837  to  1840.  After  retiring  from 
the  governorship  he  served  two  terms  in  Congress,  and  cast 
the  deciding  vote  in  favor  of  appropriating  $30,000  to  estab- 
lish an  experimental  telegraph  line  between  Washington  and 
Baltimore.  Up  to  that  time  Prof.  Morse  had  conducted  a 
few  experiments  at  distances  of  two  or  three  hundred  yards, 
but  he  was  generally  regarded  as  a  dreamer  and  his  invention 
as  wholly  impracticable.  Wallace  was  criticised  in  the  most 
severe  terms  for  voting  for  the  appropriation,  and  when  he 
came  before  the  people  for  re-election  in  1846  he  had  to  face 


William  Henry  Wishaed  107 

some  lively  music.  His  democratic  opponent  was  William 
J.  Brown.  I  heard  several  of  Brown's  speeches  in  that  cam- 
paign. He  assailed  Wallace  without  mercy  and  held  him  up 
to  public  ridicule.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  can  hear  his  words 
of  sarcasm  yet.  'Our  congressman,'  he  would  say,  with  a  pe- 
culiar drawl  that  cut  like  a  knife,  'voted  $30,000  of  the  peo- 
ple's money  to  please  a  Yankee  and  to  help  him  to  put  up  an 
e-lec-tro  mag-net-ic  tel-e-graph,  or  some  such  jaw-breaking 
apparatus  as  that.'  Brown  was  elected  and  Wallace  was  driv- 
en out  of  Congress,  simply  because  he  had  made  it  possible 
for  the  telegraph  to  become  an  established  and  practical  in- 
vention. In  that  campaign  Brown  delivered  one  of  his  scath- 
ing speeches  in  Greenwood,  where  I  was  practicing  medicine. 
He  caught  the  crowd,  and  when  I  expressed  the  opinion  to  sev- 
eral of  the  bystanders  that  he  was  very  much  mistaken  and 
that  the  telegraph  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the  very 
greatest  inventions  of  the  century,  they  laughed  at  me.  I  con- 
tented myself  by  assuring  them  that  they  would  live  to  see 
their  error." 

Among  the  many  cordial  letters  father  received  from  time 
to  time  was  one  from  Vice-President  Alarshall,  then  Governor 
of  Indiana,  in  which  he  said : 

"Permit  me  to  congratulate  you  on  your  arrival  at  your 
ninety-fifth  birthday.  I  think  you  have  found  the  scriptural 
promise  to  be  true:  'With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  thee.'  I  do 
not  know  what  I  would  give,  because  such  things  are  not  pur- 
chasable, to  be  assured  if,  at  the  end  of  my  life,  I  could  have  as 
many  people  say  of  me  as  I  hear  them  saying  of  you :  'His  has 
been  a  life  filled  full  of  good  works,  kindly  thoughts  and  gen- 
erous impulses.' 

"It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  express  the  hope,  which 
I  know  will  be  the  truth,  that  at  eventide  it  may  be  light  with 
you." 


108  William  Henry  Wishard 

In  the  interview  of  Dr.  P.  H.  Jameson,  previously  referred 
to,  he  added,  "Doctor  Wishard  held  a  wide  acquaintance  dur- 
ing his  time  with  all  the  medical  men  of  the  state,  and  often  we 
got  together  and  talked  over  old  times  and  discussed  the  lives 
of  leaders  of  the  profession  with  which  we  both  had  been  ac- 
quainted. I  remember  one  incident  which  showed  how  exten- 
sive this  acquaintance  was.  It  was  when  we  were  both  getting 
quite  old,  Doctor  Wishard  near  the  ninetieth  mile-stone,  that 
a  state  medical  society  meeting  was  held  at  Richmond.  Some 
lecture  had  occupied  our  time  until  late  in  the  evening  and  it 
was  almost  midnight  when  I  went  to  my  room  in  the  hotel. 
I  had  just  got  in  bed  when  the  clerk  of  the  hostelry  knocked 
on  my  door  and  said  that  his  hotel  was  full  and  that  he  had 
a  man  there  that  would  like  to  share  my  room.  I  told  him 
that  that  would  be  all  right,  and  great  was  my  surprise  when 
Doctor  Wishard  entered.  It  was  a  notable  and  odd  reunion.  It 
was  then  midnight  or  later,  and  we  had  neither  had  any  sleep 
during  the  day,  but  we  lay  and  talked  until  almost  daylight. 
We  discussed  old  acquaintances,  mentioning  scores  of  the  lead- 
ing practitioners  who  had  held  sway  in  the  state  during  the 
preceding  fifty  years.  Doctor  Wishard  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
and  in  the  early  twenties  his  family  removed  to  Indiana.  His 
father,  according  to  the  statements  of  those  who  knew  him, 
was  as  fine  a  specimen  of  the  Kentucky  pioneer  as  one  could 
have  wished  to  see.  He  was  tall,  stately  and  vigorous,  and 
by  all  who  knew  him  was  spoken  of  as  Colonel  Wishard,  hav- 
ing been  a  colonel  in  the  state  militia.  Doctor  Wishard's  strong 
vigor  was  probably  due  as  much  to  heredity  as  to  anything 
else.  His  early  days  were  spent  in  simple  and  careful  living, 
but  he  came  from  a  vigorous  family,  and  this  probably  had 
much  to  do  with  his  longevity." 

The  foregoing  interview  was  held  following  a  sudden  ill- 
ness of   father's  which   it  was  believed  would  prove   fatal. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  109 

However,  he  rallied  in  a  surprisingly  short  time  and  survived 
Doctor  Jameson  more  than  three  years. 

In  writing  of  him,  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis,  of  Chicago,  organizer 
of  the  American  Medical  Association,  said :  "Doctor  Wishard 
is  one  of  the  oldest,  most  intelligent,  useful  and  patriotic  gen- 
eral practitioners  of  medicine  in  Indiana.  Rendered  strong 
and  self-reliant  by  an  abundance  of  physical  labor  in  his 
youth  without  ample  educational  advantages  in  early  life, 
and  only  the  local  or  district  schools  as  preparation  for  the 
study  of  medicine,  he  is  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term  a  self- 
made  man.  While  contributing  but  little  to  the  pages  of  medi- 
cal literature,  he  has  for  sixty-three  years  efficiently  sustained 
the  regular  medical  organizations,  both  state  and  national,  and 
as  a  surgeon,  especially  during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  his  serv- 
ices were  more  than  ordinarily  efficient  and  valuable  in  the  re- 
moval and  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  many  of 
whom  he  removed  to  northern  hospitals.  He  is  one  of  the 
pioneers,  whose  integrity,  industry  and  efficiency  have  been 
his  characteristics  in  every  position  he  has  been  called  upon 
to  occupy," 

In  the  address  which  father  gave  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association,  when  referring  to 
the  changes  that  had  taken  place  during  the  years  that  spanned 
his  professional  life  and  the  many  friends  of  his  early  days 
who  were  gone,  he  said,  "I  feel  lonely.  My  only  comfort  is  to 
make  friends  of  today  and  try  to  keep  up  with  the  procession 
as  best  I  can  and  cheer  those  who  are  in  the  advance  column 
in  this  progressive  age;  to  be  satisfied  with  my  lot  and  try  to 
grow  old  contentedly." 

How  thoroughly  and  agreeably  he  fulfilled  the  longing  to 
"grow  old  contentedly,"  none  can  testify  better,  perhaps,  than 
she  who  daily  witnessed  the  change  when  he  was  approaching 
the  century  mark,  throwing  off  the  armor  of  work  with  mind 


110  William  Henry  Wishard 

alert,  still  yearning  to  be  useful  and  have  a  share  in  the  work 
of  the  world.  To  say  that  there  was  at  first  a  ready  surren- 
der to  the  inevitable  would  scarcely  be  an  accurate  statement, 
for  one  with  the  habits  of  industry  firmly  fixed,  and  with  am- 
bition still  burning  within,  to  turn  from  a  busy  life  to  one  of 
freedom  from  all  responsibilities,  without  a  twinge  of  regret, 
would  require  superhuman  grace.  Naturally  he  was  slow  to 
"settle  down."  Life  was  always  full  of  serious  interest  to 
father  and  he  wanted  to  be  a  co-worker  in  it;  mere  existence 
had  no  attractions  for  him,  but,  with  remarkable  adaptability, 
which  surprised  even  those  who  could  best  fathom  his  nature, 
he  adjusted  himself  to  a  life  of  freedom,  but  never  idleness, 
until  the  weakness  of  age  mercifully  lessened  the  craving  for 
activity. 

When,  because  of  approaching  blindness,  he  could  no 
longer  gratify  his  insatiable  thirst  for  reading  he  never 
wearied  of  listening  to  others,  always  evincing  his  grasp  of 
the  continuity  of  public  questions  by  retaining  their  progress 
in  his  mind  from  day  to  day.  He  never  failed  to  remember 
the  day  of  the  week  when  the  church  papers  were  due  and 
with  eagerness  sought  to  hear  what  was  being  done  for  the 
advancement  of  the  kingdom  through  the  channels  of  the 
church  he  loved  with  rare  devotion.  He  never  gave  a  half- 
hearted service  to  anything,  nor  was  there  ever  any  doubt  in 
the  minds  of  others  as  to  where  he  stood  when  moral  ques- 
tions were  the  issue.  Contact  with  the  world  meant  no  weak- 
ening of  his  moral  fiber.  His  deeply  religious  nature  had 
many  outlets  and  he  was  always  bearing  witness  to  his  belief 
and  hope.  He  carried  about  with  him  an  inexhaustible  faith 
which  he  radiated  and  which  permeated  every  act  and  motive ; 
indeed  he  seemed  energized  by  it.  His  chief  aim  was  to  serve 
his  Master  and  fellowmen,  and  he  practiced  medicine  to  pay 
his  expenses,  which  at  best  were  never  large;  his  wants  were 


William  Henry  Wishakd  111 

few  and  his  tastes  modest.  To  him  his  religious  life  was  his 
vital  existence,  not  a  garb  to  be  worn  for  effect  or  used  in 
great  emergencies.  He  accepted  God's  promises  literally  and 
fashioned  his  life  accordingly.  He  lived  in  the  realms  of  trust 
and  obedience,  which  with  his  philosophy  of  life  enabled  him 
to  rise  above  the  sordid  things  of  earth.  His  was  no  modem 
theology;  he  believed  that  "the  faith  which  was  once  delivered 
unto  the  saints,"  that  faith  which  "builds  a  bridge  from  this 
world  to  the  next  one,"  was  impregnable  and  intended  for  all 
time  and  not  to  be  modified  to  accommodate  succeeding  gen- 
erations. He  never  apologized  for  the  supernatural  in  the 
Bible,  but  accepted  it  all  with  perfect  assurance,  believing  that 
when  his  eyes  would  be  opened  to  the  glories  of  eternity  all 
that  which  seemed  impenetrable  would  be  made  clear.  To 
him  the  promise,  "What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou 
shalt  know  hereafter,"  was  sufficient  for  all  the  problems  and 
mysteries  of  life."  I  never  heard  him  give  expression  to  the 
slightest  doubt  as  to  his  Christian  faith.  His  confidence  in 
God  and  the  final  working  out  of  His  purposes  with  man  was 
absolute.  In  the  quiet  that  surrounded  him  in  the  days  of  his 
early  Christian  life,  his  faith  took  firm  root.  Religion  goes 
deepest  in  silent  places. 

He  told  how  as  a  little  boy  he  would  ride  on  the  same 
horse  with  his  mother  to  prayer  meetings,  held  in  the  neigh- 
borhood cabins  when  there  were  no  other  religious  services. 
Her  example  and  conversation  at  such  times  left  an  impres- 
sion that  was  never  effaced. 

As  a  stream  is  fed  by  hidden  sources,  so  must  his  nature 
have  sprung  from  ancestors  whose  strength  and  virility,  re- 
stricted by  their  surroundings,  bore  fruitage  in  his  life  of 
broader  development  and  expression.  It  may  have  been  the 
bold,  rugged  and  fearless  spirit  of  his  father,  softened  by  the 
gentleness  and  sweetness  of  his  mother's  firm  nature.    I  have 


112  William  Henry  Wishard 

never  seen  a  stronger  example  of  fidelity  to  conviction  and 
obligation  than  was  to  be  found  in  my  father.  Potent  must 
have  been  the  influence  of  his  parents,  for  that  trait  marked 
all  their  sons  and  daughters.  When  once  persuaded  that  any 
line  of  action  was  right  they  were  established  and  steadfast. 
They  were  blessed  in  the  simplicity  of  life  under  which  they 
grew  into  manhood  and  womanhood.  Circumscribed  as  were 
their  early  opportunities,  the  reflex  benefits  are  not  to  be  un- 
dervalued. The  formative  period  of  their  youth  was  sin- 
gularly free  from  many  distracting  influences,  and  when  they 
went  out  from  the  old  home  it  was  with  upright  habits  so  in- 
doctrinated that  they  were  never  drawn  from  their  moorings 
by  the  temptations  they  met;  the  waves  of  doubt  never  dis- 
turbed them  and  the  allurements  of  the  world  never  drew  them 
aside  from  the  higher  purposes  of  life  toward  which  they  had 
set  their  goal. 

It  might  be  added  in  this  connection  that  the  strong  attach- 
ment manifested  by  the  youthful  owner  of  the  lost  horn  was 
a  trait  that  stood  out  prominently  in  his  character  throughout 
life,  not  in  any  selfish  way,  for  he  was  singularly  free  from 
any  taint  of  that  attribute,  but  clung  with  a  peculiar  tender- 
ness to  all  the  associations  of  his  early  days.  As  his  life 
broadened  and  his  horizon  expanded  he  never  grew  away  from 
the  friends  of  his  boyhood.  He  was  a  stranger  to  false  pride 
and  had  disdain  for  the  person  who  frowned  upon  an  humble 
origin.  He  rejoiced  in  the  larger  life  that  brought  greater  op- 
portunities for  service,  but  revered  the  past.  He  believed  that 
a  good  ancestry  is  a  desirable  inheritance  and  should  be  an  in- 
centive not  only  to  live  up  to  the  standards  set  by  one's  fore- 
fathers, but  to  build  better  than  they  had  built;  but  that  in 
the  final  analysis  the  issue  of  character  is  with  the  individual. 
He  kept  fresh  and  strong  the  family  ties,  remote  as  well  as 
near,  and  had  a  very  profound  respect  and  veneration  for  min- 


William  Henry  Wishard  113 

isters  and  their  holy  office.  As  children  in  the  home  we  never 
heard  our  parents  discuss  their  pastors  critically. 

Father  never  lost  his  interest  in  young  people;  those  who 
went  to  him  for  counsel  were  cheered  and  inspired  with  fresh 
courage  and  determination  to  press  on  with  greater  efforts. 
Hearing  his  name  mentioned,  a  physician  beyond  the  Rocky 
mountains  gave  expression  to  his  gratitude  for  assistance  in 
these  words :  "He  is  one  of  the  noblest  men  I  ever  knew.  No 
young  physician  ever  came  to  him  in  perplexity  or  distress  over 
a  critical  case  who  did  not  receive  counsel  and  help.  Day  or 
night  he  was  at  the  call  of  any  acquaintance  or  stranger  he 
could  assist.     Professional  jealousy  had  no  place  in  his  creed." 

The  last  time  he  spoke  from  the  floor  of  the  Indiana  Synod, 
in  1902,  his  voice  rang  out  with  no  uncertain  sound  in  defense 
of  the  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  which 
was  under  discussion,  pleading  with  his  hearers  to  give  it 
their  cordial  support.  He  deplored  his  own  lack  of  opportu- 
nities in  youth  for  the  training  which  that  society  offers  and 
said  he  looked  upon  the  movement  as  God  given  in  answer  to 
the  prayers  of  the  churches  for  ages  for  the  breaking  down  of 
denominational  prejudice,  and  he  hoped  his  own  church  would 
not  hesitate  to  avail  itself  of  the  unusual  advantages  the  so- 
ciety presents. 

There  was  nothing  trite  about  his  remarks  and  illustrations ; 
they  were  fresh  and  breezy,  racy  and  to  the  point,  but  always 
tempered  with  good  humor.  One  of  his  quaint  sayings  that 
was  individual  to  say  the  least,  was  "more  things  than  red  hair 
run  in  families."  He  spoke  knowingly,  for  his  ancestor,  Will- 
iam, the  Scotsman,  brought  with  him  to  this  country  a  heavy 
shock  of  red  hair  along  with  his  other  Scotch  tendencies, 
which,  however,  was  one  father  did  not  inherit. 

One  who  later  became  a  devoted  friend  was  first  introduced 
to    father  on   the   street.     After  a  brief   conversation   they 


114  William  Henry  Wishard 

parted;  as  the  new-found  friend  turned  away  he  remarked  to 
the  one  walking  by  his  side,  "Nature  is  a  poor  artist  if  he  is 
not  a  good  man;  his  face  tells  the  story."  He  had  deep, 
clear  blue  eyes  with  a  penetrating  keenness  that  fathomed  the 
truth.  He  possessed  that  vivid  personality  and  independence 
which  come  with  perfect  simplicity  and  lack  of  self-centered- 
ness.  He  was  original,  always  genial  and  delighted  to  mingle 
with  friends,  who  meant  more  to  him  than  places  and  circum- 
stances. He  was  a  stranger  to  no  one  and  had  a  friendly  sa- 
lute for  all.  After  the  old  home  was  vacated  and  we  moved 
into  a  strange  locality  he  missed  the  informal  running  in  of 
the  neighbors  he  knew  so  well  and  would  sometimes  ask, 
''Haven't  we  any  neighbors?" 

It  must  have  been  his  love  for  the  society  of  friends  and  for 
his  work  that  made  him  indifferent  to  any  of  the  diversions 
and  recreations  that  less  vigorous  constitutions  demand. 
Though  he  grew  up  in  the  midst  of  forests,  and  was  familiar 
with  all  wild  game,  he  never  cared  to  fish  or  hunt;  he  felt 
that  it  w^as  his  mission  to  save  life  rather  than  take  it.  He 
never  forgot  a  kindness  and  took  pleasure  in  describing  how 
his  mother,  who  was  early  left  an  orphan,  had  been  cared  for 
by  an  old  colored  servant  who  had  been  freed,  and  toward 
whom  he  always  manifested  a  personal  feeling  of  gratitude  for 
her  faithfulness.  The  saving  grace  of  his  differences  with 
others  was  that  he  cherished  no  animosity  afterward,  which 
was  demonstrated  once  when  a  man  whose  conduct  had  called 
forth  a  righteous  rebuke  from  father,  later  charged  him  with 
being  opposed  to  him.  Father  quietly  listened  and  then  calmly 
replied,  "No,  my  friend,  I  have  no  feeling  of  dislike  for  you; 
it  is  your  habits  I  abominate." 

He  belonged  to  an  age  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  last  rep- 
resentatives. "I  am  living  on  borrowed  time"  was  sometimes 
his  comment  when  speaking  of  the  many  years  that  had  been 
vouchsafed  tp  him. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  115 

He  could  give  a  rationale  of  events  with  marvelous  ac- 
curacy. He  remembered  the  day  when  there  was  not  a  single 
mile  of  railroad  in  this  country  or  Europe,  but  lived  until 
transcontinental  tours  were  made  in  automobiles,  the  air  was 
conquered  by  aerial  navigation  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
world  brought  into  communication  by  wireless  telegraphy  and 
the  telephone.  His  life  compassed  the  evolution  of  lighting 
from  grease  lamps  and  candles  through  kerosene  and  gas  to 
electricity.  He  witnessed  the  passing  of  the  red  men  in  Indi- 
ana, and  as  a  boy,  in  1826,  saw  the  wadow  and  family  of  Te- 
cumseh,  who  commanded  the  Indians  at  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe. With  the  Prophet,  a  brother  of  Tecumseh's,  they 
camped  for  tw^o  days  not  far  from  his  father's  home  on  their 
way  west.  Father  was  bom  when  James  Madison,  the  fourth 
president,  was  in  office,  and  lived  during  the  administrations 
of  twenty-five  presidents.  He  saw  Indianapolis  develop  from 
a  village  of  a  few  hundred  to  a  city  of  three  hundred  thousand, 
and  at  the  year  of  his  birth  only  thirteen  of  Indiana's  ninety- 
two  counties  had  been  surveyed  and  only  eighteen  states  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union.  His  life  exceeded  in  length  that  of  any 
of  his  ancestors  of  whom  there  is  any  record.  Had  he  lived 
forty  days  longer  he  would  have  rounded  out  ninety-eight 
years.  Of  his  family  his  brother,  Samuel  Ellis,  alone  survived 
him,  dying  November  11,  1915,  five  weeks  before  he  reached 
his  ninetieth  birthday. 

A  newspaper  reporter,  in  interviewing  father  on  his  eighty- 
seventh  birthday,  asked  him  to  what  he  attributed  his  longevity 
and  unusual  vitality,  to  which  he  replied,  "Well,  my  friend,  I 
was  reared  on  a  farm  and  had  plenty  of  good  hard  work  to 
do.  I  always  had  a  plain  diet  and  arose  from  the  table  feeling 
that  I  could  eat  a  little  more."     The  reporter  further  added : 

"Doctor  Wishard  represents  an  epoch  in  American  history. 
His  life  began  in  the  wilderness  and  is  now  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  progressive  type  of  civilization.   He  entered  the  practice 


116  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  medicine  in  the  days  of  saddle-bags,  long  horseback  trips, 
crude  drugs  and  limited  pharmacy.  Today  he  is  in  an  office 
that  was  designed  especially  for  physicians.  The  handsome 
seven-story  building  is  a  contrast  with  the  two-room  frame 
house  which  he  first  saw  at  Meridian  and  Washington  streets 
in  1826,  where  Dr.  S.  G.  Mitchell,  the  first  resident  physician 
of  Indianapolis,  established  his  practice." 

The  years  of  serenity  and  calm  waiting,  with  undisturbed 
confidence,  were  but  the  reflection  of  many  years  of  character 
building,  an  unconscious  preparation  for  the  test  that  comes  to 
those  who  must  sit  and  wait.  The  interpretation  of  the 
causes  which  led  to  such  maturity  of  mind  and  soul  are  per- 
haps best  explained  by  a  friend,  who,  in  writing  to  father,  said, 
"I  will  never  forget  a  remark  you  once  made  to  me,  which 
was  something  like  this,  'Youth  lives  in  anticipation  of  the 
future;  those  in  middle  life  live  in  the  present;  the  old  live  on 
memories  of  the  past.  How  it  behooves  us  then  in  youth  and 
middle  life  to  so  live  that  our  memories  will  be  pleasant  and 
such  as  we  would  like  to  dwell  upon.'  " 

"Truly  the  grandest  old  oak  in  all  the  forest  has  fallen," 
was  the  eulogium  of  one  when  he  read  that  he  had  reached  the 
end  of  life.  A  young  man  who  knew  him  many  years  said, 
"He  measured  up  to  my  ideals  of  what  a  man  might  be.  His 
was  a  wonderful  mixture  of  strength  and  tenderness,  of  moral 
strictness  and  yet  human  sympathy,  charity  and  understand- 
ing.   His  friendship  was  helpful  and  wholesome." 

A  friend  wrote  from  a  distance,  "Of  your  father  I  can  not 
tell  you  anything  which  has  not  been  better  said  by  many 
others  who  know  better  how  to  write  them  than  I.  My  loving 
friendship  for  him  is  one  of  the  dearest  I  have,  and  I  am  al- 
ways glad  to  lay  a  wreath  upon  such  tombs  in  the  way  of 
tribute  to  his  worth  and  my  afTection  for  him.     In  all  his 


William  Henry  Wishaed  117 

weary  life,  with  demands  upon  him  by  countless  other  friends, 
I  have  ever  felt  a  pride  in  the  fact  that  he  was  so  glad  to  meet 
me,  and  I  never  made  a  call  upon  him  that  was  in  any  manner 
disappointing.  How  could  I  speak  of  him  as  he  deserves!  It 
would  need  a  keener  pen  than  mine  to  do  justice  to  him  as  a 
friend;  others  can  speak  of  him  as  the  patriot,  Christian, 
physician,  the  upright,  bold,  fearless,  outspoken  citizen,  the 
cheery,  kind,  tender  sympathizer  so  much  better  than  I,  that  I 
shrink  from  the  task  because  I  feel  how  weak  and  powerless 
would  be  anything  I  could  say.  And  so  I  am  forced  to  this 
weak  expression  when  I  would  say  much  more.  I  was  notified 
of  his  demise  while  over  on  the  ocean  coast,  and  I  could  only 
recall  the  words  of  King  David  as  best  fitting  the  occasion, 
'Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  in 
Israel  today?'  " 

A  niece  of  father's  sent  this  message,  "We  have  but  one 
thought  of  your  dear  father  and  that  is  of  his  victorious  life 
transplanted  to  a  higher  sphere.  He  was  so  gloriously  alive 
for  almost  a  century  that  'death  could  have  no  dominion  over 
him.'  It  must  have  been  fellowship  with  such  a  soul  as  his  that 
prompted  those  words,"  and  as  another  wrote,  "He  well 
learned  the  art  of  living  as  taught  by  the  One  who  mastered 
hfe." 

A  professional  associate  many  years  younger  than  father 
wrote,  "His  stories  and  opinions,  his  comments  and  philosophy 
all  rang  true." 

Another  niece  wrote,  "Dear  Uncle  William !  What  a  saintly 
man  he  was,  always  the  same,  kind  and  loving,  ever  ready  to 
sacrifice  everything  for  others.  After  my  own  dear  parents, 
none  of  the  older  generation  have  been  as  near  to  me  as  Uncle 
William  and  Aunt  Harriet,  and  it  fills  my  heart  with  sadness 
to  know  that  I  shall  see  them  no  more  on  earth." 

A  nephew  sent  this  tribute:    "Uncle  William  was  my  boy- 


118  AViLLiAM  Henry  Wishard 

hood's  best  friend.  Next  to  my  parents,  he  held  the  larger 
share  of  my  affections.  He  was  always  'chummy'  with  me, 
and  thereby  gained  my  confidence  and  affection.  His  many 
kind  words  to  me  during  that  period  of  life  we  usually  reckon 
as  formative,  have  remained  and  led  me  through  many  slip- 
pery places.  He  was  the  reincarnation  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 
Always  unmindful  of  self — was  ever  alert  in  ministering  to 
others — his  whole  life  was  a  continuous  self-sacrifice.  Why 
then  should  we  mourn  over  his  going?  He  was  spared  many 
years  beyond  the  allotted  three  score  and  ten,  and  his  passport 
to  eternal  rest  is  sure,  for  emblazoned  thereon  we  find,  'Inas- 
much as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  me.'  " 

Another  nephew  expressed  his  gratitude  in  these  words : 
"My  heart  is  made  tender  and  grateful  when  I  think  of  his  un- 
selfish life  and  his  kindness  to  me.  I  should  like  to  write  more 
but  can  not  because  of  tears." 

Still  another  kinsman  wrote :  "The  long-expected  lettergram 
has  come.  How  great  a  privilege  it  would  be  to  answer  it  in 
person.  If  I  were  within  reach  I  would  lay  away  my  pen  and 
go  to  you  directly  and  mingle  my  tears  with  yours  and  talk 
long  into  the  night  in  review  of  the  triumphant  life  whose 
memory  shall  for  generations  be  cherished  as  one  of  the  rich- 
est heritages  of  our  family.  Since  the  startling  message, 
which,  however  long  anticipated,  comes  as  a  shock,  was  trans- 
mitted over  the  'phone  I  have  been  unable  to  think  of  my  daily 
tasks.  My  memory  has  been  flooded  with  reminiscences  of 
dear  Uncle  William's  life  from  the  day  I  first  remember 
him.  I  can  feel  at  this  moment  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder 
and  hear  his  brave  words  of  sympathy  and  cheer  in  the  dark- 
est day  of  my  life.  From  that  day  until  the  last  time  I  saw 
him  he  largely  filled  my  father's  place  in  my  heart.  I  gave 
him  my  entire  confidence  and  received  his  in  return.     The 


William  Henry  Wishaed  119 

memory  of  our  rides  together  along  the  famihar  roads  on 
which  he  had  journeyed  in  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold 
on  errands  of  mercy  and  love — the  long  uninterrupted  talks 
we  had  of  the  olden  time  of  whose  fascinating  romance  I 
never  tired — our  hearty  hilarious  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas 
feasts,  all  pass  before  me  this  morning  in  swift  and  loving  re- 
view as  one  of  the  sweetest  memories  of  this  bitter-sweet  life, 
and  if  I  could  sit  in  your  broken  circle  and  talk  it  all  out  I 
could  recall  a  thousand  tender  memories  which  will  abide  with 
me  long  after  the  heavens  shall  have  been  rolled  together  as  a 
scroll  and  the  stars  shall  have  burned  out.  The  mansion  of 
rest  prepared  by  the  hands  of  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth  is 
thronged  with  familiar  forms  and  faces  whom  he  'had  loved 
long  since  and  lost  a  while,'  chief  among  whom  stands  the 
queenly  woman  whose  birthday  feast  was  to  be  crowned  by 
the  homecoming  of  him  for  whose  familiar  step  she  has  waited 
as  she  had  done  in  years  gone  while  he  tarried  beyond  the  time 
in  homes  of  suffering  where  his  professional  ministrations 
were  his  meat  and  drink,  while  close  beside  her  are  grouped 
the  forms  of  those  whose  baby  eyes  he  had  closed  in  death,  his 
first  bom  and  early  children  who,  with  celestial  voices,  call 
him  father.  I  can  not  pursue  this  longer.  My  heart  is  over- 
flowing. I  could  sit  with  you  beside  our  dead  in  silence,  or 
talk  with  you  of  his  brave,  loving  life,  but  my  pen  refuses 
to  express  my  feelings  as  I  could  do  if  I  were  with  you." 

A  fellow  officer  in  the  church  wrote :  "The  passage  of  your 
father  from  the  church  militant  to  the  church  triumphant  has 
brought  to  us  in  all  their  vividness  his  many  strong  and  help- 
ful testimonies  given  at  the  prayer  meetings  of  the  Seventh 
Presbyterian  church.  His  remarks  never  contained  even  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  in  all  pervading,  ruling  and  protecting 
providence,  and  he  had  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  he  was 
miraculously  spared  again  and  again  while  passing  back  and 


120  William  Henry  Wishard 

forth  as  army  surgeon  during  the  civil  war,  ministering  to  the 
sick  and  wounded.  We  often  remarked  that  age,  distance, 
and  inclement  weather  were  not  sufficient  barriers  to  keep  him 
away  from  any  of  the  church  services.  He  will  continue  to 
live  in  the  lives  of  many." 

An  old  neighbor,  in  writing,  related  that  the  day  he  was 
moving  into  his  new  home,  a  few  doors  removed  from  us, 
that  father  met  him  as  he  was  going  in,  and,  after  admiring 
the  house,  remarked,  "You  have  a  good  house  and  it  is  a  fine 
thing  to  have  such  down  here,  but  it  is  far  better  to  have  a 
place  in  the  Father's  home  above."  One  who  knew  him  long 
and  intimately  wrote  sympathetically,  "We  are  thinking  of  all 
he  accomplished  in  administering  to  suffering  humanity  and 
especially  to  the  poor,  who  had  no  other  compensation  to  give 
but  the  tribute  of  grateful  hearts." 

Dr.  Dell  Scott  Edwards,  who  had  known  him  from  her  early 
girlhood,  wrote :  "  'How  much  of  what  is  best  and  pleasantest 
in  life  comes  to  us  by  the  way.'  So  began  my  acquaintance 
with  your  father.  Illness  called  him  into  my  home  and  my  as- 
sociation with  him  as  the  kind,  intelligent,  loyal  family  physi- 
cian ripened  into  a  friendship  that  was  strengthened  with  the 
passing  years.  Entering  upon  his  work  at  a  time  when  it 
meant  so  much  both  of  mental  application  and  sacrifice  of 
physical  strength,  his  was  a  courageous  spirit  that  could  fulfill 
•the  demands  made  upon  him  in  those  .pioneer  days.  Com- 
pletely adjusting  himself  to  the  times  in  which  he  lived  he  de- 
voted himself  to  his  chosen  calling  with  interest  and  faithful- 
ness that  are  seldom  equaled.  Often  have  I  been  an  inter- 
ested listener  as  he  would  tell  of  his  work  in  those  early  days 
in  his  adopted  state ;  of  the  long  rides  at  all  hours,  in  all  kinds 
of  weather  to  see  those  who  were  sick  and  suffering  that  he 
might  minister  unto  them.  The  severe  trials  incident  to  his 
work  were  such  as  would  daunt  the  spirit  of  many  in  the  pro- 


William  Henry  Wishard  121 

fession  today,  yet  with  him  it  was  a  duty  done  cheerfully, 
never  reluctantly.  Such  a  life,  so  noble  in  its  purpose,  so  per- 
fect in  its  integrity,  was  an  inspiration  to  all  who  knew  him." 

"I  have  just  read  in  the  paper  an  announcement  of  the 
death  of  your  father,"  wrote  Rev.  Charles  Little,  D.  D.,  of 
Wabash,  Ind.,  ex-moderator  of  the  General  Assembly.  "I  ap- 
preciate your  sense  of  loss,  of  personal  loss,  and  extend  my 
sympathy.  Also  I  rejoice  with  you.  When  my  father  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-one,  and  my  mother  at  ninety- four,  I  was 
thankful  they  had  been  with  me  so  long,  and  that  they  had  left 
in  their  honored  names  and  lives  a  rich  legacy  to  me,  and  also 
that  their  arrival  in  heaven  had  enriched  that  blessed  place.  In 
the  going  of  your  father  all  this  is  yours  in  a  peculiar  degree, 
and  most  tenderly  do  I  congratulate  you.  Also  I  rejoice  with 
him  in  the  halo,  which  throughout  our  state  and  our  church  at- 
taches itself  to  his  memory,  and  I  further  rejoice  with  him  be- 
cause of  the  rest  which  remains  for  the  people  of  God." 

Miss  Grettie  Y.  Holliday  wrote  from  Persia :  "Yesterday's 
post  brought  the  paper  containing  the  account  of  your  dear 
father's  passing  away.  For  two  or  three  days  previous  he  had 
been  in  my  mind.  I  had  been  wondering  if  he  were  still  living 
and  in  what  health,  and  if  his  strong  constitution  would  carry 
him  to  the  end  of  a  hundred  years.  This  brings  strongly  to 
my  mind  the  generation  to  which  he  and  your  lovely  mother 
belonged,  also  my  own  father,  the  children  of  the  original 
pioneers  who  came  to  Indiana  and  laid  the  foundations  of 
what  it  now  is,  and  still  more  and  better  of  the  church  of 
Christ  within  its  borders.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  your  father 
must  be  almost,  if  not  quite,  the  last  and  youngest  of  that  set 
of  pioneers'  children  of  whom  my  father  was  among  the  elder, 
as  there  was  about  twelve  years'  difference  in  their  ages. 
While  we  thank  God  for  such  fathers  and  the  ancestry  that 
lay  back  of  them,  we  gratefully  acknowledge  that  all  they  were 


122  William  Henry  Wishard 

and  had  of  good  they  owed  to  Christ.  It  inspires  us  to  be 
more  worthy  of  Him  and  of  them.  There  is  a  pecuhar  sat- 
isfaction in  being  able  to  repay  in  a  measure  what  our  parents 
did  for  us  in  our  childhood.  I  prize  the  memory  of  the  visits 
at  your  house  when  last  at  home,  especially  the  quiet  day  there 
with  Mrs.  Baggs  and  Miss  Keely,  which  was  such  a  great 
pleasure." 

The  Journal  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association,  a 
monthly  publication,  paid  tribute  to  his  memory  by  naming 
the  issue  of  January,  1914,  the  "William  H.  Wishard  Memo- 
rial Number."  From  the  sketch  of  his  life  which  was  given 
in  it  the  following  extracts  tell  how  his  character  was  esti- 
mated by  those  who  viewed  him  from  a  professional  stand- 
point :  "The  story  of  Doctor  Wishard's  early  experience  as 
a  practitioner  is  an  interesting  recital  of  the  hardships  of  pio- 
neer life  and  the  heroic  struggle  of  an  energetic  young  physi- 
cian to  overcome  the  handicap  placed  on  him  by  limited  facili- 
ties for  doing  the  work  of  his  profession.  As  has  been  aptly 
said,  medical  education  in  those  days  was  more  like  appren- 
ticeship to  a  trade,  and  the  limitations  under  which  a  young 
physician  began  his  career  would  be  considered  almost  insur- 
mountable today.  In  a  very  striking  way  he  combined  the 
characteristics  of  a  doctor  of  the  old  school  with  the  modem 
physician.  During  his  advancing  years,  when  the  infirmities 
of  age  cut  him  off  from  direct  association  and  participation 
in  the  activities  of  his  profession,  he  never  lost  interest  in  the 
progress  of  medicine,  rejoiced  at  every  step  in  scientific  prog- 
ress and  had  an  enthusiastic  faith  in  the  high  calling  of  his 
profession  that  he  maintained  to  the  very  last.  Doctor  Wish- 
ard believed  that  no  man  had  greater  opportunities  for  useful- 
ness than  did  a  physician  and  never  failed  to  improve  every  oc- 
casion for  sowing  seeds  of  righteousness  as  he  went  about  do- 
ing the  work  of  the  beloved  physician.    He  ministered  to  the 


William  Henry  Wishard  123 

sin-sick  as  he  healed  their  bodies;  he  preached  the  gospel  of 
love  and  kindness  as  he  went  in  and  out  of  the  homes  of  the 
well-to-do  and  the  poor  and  the  outcast.  He  was  no  respecter 
of  persons  when  it  came  to  the  giving  of  his  professional  serv- 
ices ;  all  received  alike  the  best  he  could  give,  whether  it  meant 
remuneration  or  a  free-will  offering.  His  daily  life  was  an 
exemplification  of  the  highest  ideals  of  Christian  manliness; 
his  character  was  spotless  and  bore  no  stain  of  dishonesty  or 
professional  trickery.  He  had  a  deep  abiding  faith  that  never 
wavered;  a  hope  and  trust  that  kept  him  joyful  and  full  of 
anticipation  for  the  future.  Doctor  Grenfell,  that  remarkable 
apostle  of  healing  to  the  people  of  Labrador,  has  said  in  writ- 
ing of  his  interpretation  of  Christian  faith:  'In  my  bluest 
moments  of  life  and  in  many  hours  facing  death,  I  have  never 
had  one  single  doubt.'  With  that  sublime  confidence,  bom  of 
long  years  of  fidelity  to  God  and  conscience.  Doctor  Wishard 
went  quietly  to  sleep,  loved  and  honored  by  countless  friends, 
leaving  a  name  that  will  live  in  history  and  a  memory  that 
will  long  be  cherished." 

While  father  relished  life  and  until  the  end  drew  from  it 
pleasure  and  satisfaction,  yet  all  the  time  he  talked  of  the  joys 
that  awaited  him.  In  the  tenderest  moments  his  mind  dwelt 
upon  the  early  ties  and  associations  and  in  the  evening  watches, 
when  we  sat  alone,  he  loved  to  tell  of  his  mother,  ever  mindful 
of  the  great  debt  he  owed  her.  At  times  it  seemed  as  if  the 
vision  of  those  who  had  preceded  him  was  so  plain  they  must 
be  by  his  side.  The  mental  pictures  he  drew  of  his  mother, 
the  baby  boy  and  the  little  daughters  were  so  realistic  that 
their  faces  have  become  almost  actual  memories. 

His  prayers  always  breathed  the  trust  and  assurance  that 
prompted  their  utterance.  The  family  altar  was  erected  when 
the  young  husband  united  with  the  church  and  its  fires  were 
never  extinguished.    The  days  were  never  too  full  or  the  pres- 


124  William  Henry  Wishard 

sure  too  heavy  to  crowd  out  that  service,  morning  and  evening, 
the  influence  and  memory  of  which  will  be  the  longest  to  linger 
with  the  children  of  that  household.  In  the  summer  when  we 
would  repair  to  the  rear  yard  to  escape  the  evening  heat,  we 
sometimes  remained  for  prayers  under  the  trees.  The  hush 
of  the  quiet  at  the  close  of  day  with  the  stately  trees  towering 
above,  lent  an  inspiration  that  suggested  the  time  when  the 
patriarchs  of  old  dwelt  in  the  open.  A  friend,  who  was  once 
a  house  guest,  in  writing  of  her  visit,  said,  'T  recall  like  a  pic- 
ture your  father's  fine  old  figure  in  the  midst  of  the  little 
gathering  for  prayers  in  your  back  yard.  It  is  one  of  the 
scenes  that  will  stay  with  me.  It  is  an  achievement  to  grow 
old  with  dignity,  strong  enough  in  purpose  to  hold  to  the  end 
to  the  key  that  has  governed  in  earlier  life." 

The  last  time  his  voice  led  in  the  family  worship,  not  long 
before  the  gates  of  pearl  swung  open  to  receive  his  spirit,  was 
a  time  never  to  be  forgotten,  one  of  the  experiences  in  life 
difficult  to  describe  through  the  medium  of  words,  yet  never 
to  be  erased  from  memory  by  those  present.  For  several 
weeks  father  had  been  unable  to  leave  his  bed,  frequently  too 
weak  to  see  friends  who  called.  One  evening  the  family  as- 
sembled around  the  bed  with  one  of  the  members  who  had 
returned  for  a  visit.  Before  the  son,  who  was  leading  the  de- 
votions, had  an  opportunity  to  offer  prayer,  the  voice  of  him 
who  was  thought  too  feeble  to  participate  was  raised  in  tones 
slow  and  measured,  but  surprisingly  clear  and  strong,  which, 
with  the  aid  of  a  pad  and  pencil  that  chanced  to  be  in  the  hand 
of  one  present,  facilitated  its  record: 

Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.  Thou  upon  whom  we  are 
dependent  for  every  blessing,  mercy  and  privilege  of  life,  we 
come  to  Thee  this  night  to  offer  our  evening  thanks.  Thou 
hast  been  good  and  gracious  to  us  and  hast  dealt  with  us  not 
according  to  our  sins,  but  according  to  Thy  loving  kindness 


William  Henry  Wishaed  125 

and  tender  mercy.  Be  Thou  near  to  all  for  whom  duty  and 
privilege  require  us  to  pray.  Enable  us,  oh  God,  to  live 
humbly  in  Thy  fear,  striving  to  do  Thy  will;  enable  us  to  fix 
our  affections  upon  the  things  of  eternity  and  not  upon  this 
world.  Help  us,  oh  Lord,  to  be  Thy  faithful  followers,  to 
stop  and  consider  where  we  are  going  and  to  so  lay  hold  of 
Thy  promises  that  we  will  never  forget  Thee,  nor  the  privi- 
leges and  blessings  with  which  Thou  hast  crowned  our  days. 
Bless  the  poor,  the  needy  and  the  sick.  Look  in  mercy  upon 
those  who  are  lying  upon  beds  of  affliction.  Hasten  the  day 
when  peace,  righteousness  and  the  love  of  God  shall  reign 
from  the  rivers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Make  us  more  devout,  more  zealous  and  earnest  in  Thy 
service,  more  faithful,  that  we  may  honor  Thee  in  the  future 
as  we  have  not  done  in  the  past.  Remember  Thy  people  of 
every  nation.  May  the  day  soon  come  when  those  of  every 
land  shall  know  Thee,  when  knowledge  of  Thee  shall  spread 
as  the  waters  cover  the  deep;  when  Thy  righteousness  shall 
shine  as  the  noonday  sun.  Forgive  our  offenses  for  we  have 
sinned  against  Thee;  our  hearts  have  gone  out  too  often  to 
lay  hold  upon  the  perishable  things  of  the  earth.  Prepare  us 
now  for  every  duty  and  responsibility  that  awaits  us.  Help 
us  to  so  live  from  day  to  day  that  when  night  comes  and  the 
work  of  life  is  over  we  may  make  sure  of  an  eternal  entrance 
into  the  fullness  of  Thy  joy.  We  ask  all  these  blessings  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ.    Amen. 

His  prayer  epitomizes  more  forcibly  than  the  language  of 
another  can  the  wondrous  triumph  of  God's  grace  that  sus- 
tained him  until  the  silent  messenger  forever  stilled  his  voice. 
As  one  reflects  upon  the  enduring  qualities  of  his  character, 
the  breadth  and  scope  of  his  faith  and  hope,  one  can  not  but 
believe  that  the  influences  that  go  out  from  such  a  life  far  out- 
stretch the  limit  of  time  given  to  those  who  came  under  its 
benign  sway. 


SERVICES  CONDUCTED  AT  FUNERAL  OF 
DR.  WILLIAM  HENRY  WISHARD 

At  the  Residence  of  His  Son,  Dr.  William  Niles  Wishard, 
December  12,  ipi3 

Scripture  Reading  by  the  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver 

Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelHng-place  in  all  generations. 

Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  ever  Thou 
hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting,  Thou  art  God. 

Thou  turnest  man  to  destruction;  and  sayest,  return,  ye 
children  of  men. 

For  a  thousand  years  in  Thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when 
it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night. 

Thou  earnest  them  away  as  with  a  flood ;  they  are  as  asleep : 
in  the  morning  they  are  like  grass  which  groweth  up. 

In  the  morning  it  flourisheth,  and  groweth  up ;  in  the  even- 
ing it  is  cut  down,  and  withereth. 

The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  years  and  ten. 

Or  if,  perchance,  by  the  special  dispensation  of  divine  grace, 
they  attain  unto  almost  five  score,  they  mark  surely  a  mature 
life  in  God's  wondrous  plan.  In  line  with  His  providential 
dealing  with  many  men  of  faith,  we  read : 

Then  Abraham  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died  in  a  good  old 
age,  an  old  man,  and  full  of  years;  and  was  gathered  to  his 
people. 

And  Isaac  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died,  and  was  gathered 
unto  his  people,  being  old  and  full  of  days. 

So  Job  died,  being  old  and  full  of  days. 

Evidently  this  promise  has  been  fulfilled  in  the  life  of  him 
who  is  in  our  thought  today.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  rare  to  see  the 
poetic  touch  so  fully  realized — "like  a  shock  of  com  cometh  in 

126 


William  Henry  Wishaed  127 

its  season."  Hence,  we  may  feel,  as  the  bereaved  family  feel 
today,  that  this  occasion  is  not  one  wherein  comfort  is  so 
much  needed.  They  have  the  comfort  in  their  hearts.  They 
have  adjusted  themselves  in  thought  to  the  special  benediction 
and  blessing  of  God  Almighty  vouchsafed  in  this  life  of  al- 
most five  score  years;  ripe,  mature,  symmetrical  in  its  com- 
pleteness, ready  for  that  unfolding  in  the  fuller  life  of  God's 
plan. 

So,  today  we  are  thinking  in  the  retrospect.  We  are  going 
to  look  back  upon  this  life;  we  are  going  to  walk  with  him  who 
walked  humbly  with  the  Maker.  We  are  going  to  see  him  as 
he  was,  just  for  a  little  while;  remembering  that  his  life  was 
complete  in  its  earthly  span,  and  that  we  need  not  words  of 
comfort  but  words  of  encouragement,  to  emulate,  to  inspire, 
to  cleave  to  that  which  was  in  his  heart  and  in  his  life. 

The  following  hymn  was  sung  by  the  quartette  composed 
of  Messrs.  William  T.  Chafee,  Samuel  O.  Dungan,  W.  D. 
Allison  and  J.  Edward  Stilz: 

HYMN 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have, 

A  God  to  glorify; 
A  never-dying  soul  to  save, 

And  fit  it  for  the  sky. 

From  youth  to  hoary  age, 

My  calling  to  fulfill; 
O  may  it  all  my  powers  engage, 

To  do  my  Master's  will. 

Arm  me  with  jealous  care. 

As  in  Thy  sight  to  live. 
And  O  Thy  servant.  Lord,  prepare 

A  strict  account  to  give. 

Help  me  to  watch  and  pray. 

And  on  Thyself  rely; 
Assured  if  I  my  trust  betray, 

I  shall  forever  die. 


128  William  Henry  Wishard 

Scripture  Reading  by  the  Rev.  M.  L.  Haines,  D.  D. 

The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation;  whom  shall  I  fear? 
The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life;  of  whom  shall  I  be 
afraid? 

For  in  the  time  of  trouble  He  shall  hide  me  in  His  pavilion : 
in  the  secret  of  his  tabernacle  shall  He  hide  me;  He  shall  set 
me  up  upon  a  rock. 

Wait  on  the  Lord:  be  of  good  courage,  and  He  shall 
strengthen  thine  heart:  wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord. 

The  Lord  is  my  shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want. 

He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures :  He  leadeth 
me  beside  the  still  waters. 

He  restoreth  my  soul :  He  leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  right- 
eousness for  His  name's  sake. 

Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  Thou  art  with  me ;  Thy  rod 
and  Thy  staff  they  comfort  me. 

Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me  in  the  presence  of  mine 
enemies;  Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil;  my  cup  runneth 
over. 

Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of 
my  life;  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  forever. 

For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed 
in  us. 

And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  God. 

What  shall  we  then  say  to  these  things?  H  God  be  for  us, 
who  can  be  against  us  ? 

Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ?  Shall  trib- 
ulation, or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness, 
or  peril,  or  sword? 

Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  us. 

For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels, 
nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come, 

Nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creatures,  shall  be 


William  Henry  Wishard  129 

able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord. 

But  we  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels,  that  the  excel- 
lency of  the  power  may  be  of  God,  and  not  of  us. 

We  are  troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  distressed;  we  are 
perplexed,  but  not  in  despair; 

Persecuted,  but  not  forsaken ;  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed. 
Knowing  that  He  which  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  raise 
up  us  also  by  Jesus,  and  shall  present  us  with  you. 

For  which  cause  we  faint  not ;  but  though  our  outward  man 
perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day. 

While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen :  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are 
temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal. 

For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle 
were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens. 

Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  knowing  that,  whilst  we 
are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord. 

We  are  confident,  I  say,  and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord. 

Wherefore  we  labor,  that,  whether  present  or  absent,  we 
may  be  accepted  of  Him. 

And  I,  John,  saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned 
for  her  husband. 

And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell  with  them, 
and  they  shall  l>e  His  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with 
them,  and  be  their  God. 

And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the  former  things  are 
passed  away. 

And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse:  but  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it;  and  his  servants  shall  serve 
Him: 

And  they  shall  see  His  face ;  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads. 

Wherefore,  comfort  one  another  with  these  words. 


130  William  Henry  Wishard 


Prayer  by  the  Rev.  Claude  R,  Shaver 

Oh,  Thou  eternal  God  and  Father,  Thou  who  art  from  ever- 
lasting unto  everlasting;  Thou  who  art  our  life  and  our  salva- 
tion; we  pause  in  the  busy  round  of  earthly  activity  to  recog- 
nize the  limitations  of  life,  to  recognize  that  there  are  limita- 
tions to  everything  earthly.  We  say,  "What  is  man  that  Thou 
art  mindful  of  him,  or  the  son  of  man  that  Thou  visiteth  him ;" 
and  yet  in  our  humility,  in  our  weakness,  amidst  our  limita- 
tions, we  may  look  up  because  Thou  hast  spoken  unto  us.  We 
may  look  up  because  Thou  hast  taught  us  to  aspire.  Thou  hast 
taught  us  to  say  "Our  Father,"  and  to  recognize  the  unseen 
sympathizer  of  life.  Yea,  we  are  grateful  that  Thou  hast 
spoken  to  us,  in  the  latter  days,  in  Him,  Thy  son  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  love  we  know,  whose  sympathy  for  human  life  we  have 
seen,  whose  leadings  heavenward  are  our  blessing  and  our  joy. 
And,  as  we  wait  before  Thee  today  we  wait  in  His  name.  We 
wait  in  the  shadow  of  His  cross.  We  wait  in  the  light  of 
His  resurrection;  and  are  confident  that  "though  the  earthly 
house  of  our  tabernacle  be  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  from 
God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens." 
And  in  that  comfort  we  shall  abide  in  Thy  presence,  seeking 
the  guidance  of  Thy  spirit  this  hour ;  asking  that  Thou  wouldst 
enable  us  to  look  at  life  as  Thou  seest  it;  enable  us  to  look  at 
ourselves  as  Thou  seest  us;  introspective  and  thoughtful.  For 
this  is  the  lesson  of  death — to  cause  a  halt  in  the  secular  life, 
to  produce  meditation  and  aspiration,  to  produce  introspective 
analysis  and  spiritual  hope.  Therefore,  Almighty  God,  help 
us  to  abide  in  that  attitude  while  Thou  shalt  lead  us.  And  in 
the  echo  of  these  old  hymns,  and  in  the  memories  of  this  life 
of  faith,  we  would  that  Thou  wouldst  speak  to  us,  that  Thou 
wouldst  make  this  hour  one  of  worship  and  of  spiritual  aspi- 
ration; an  hour  when  we  shall  know  Thee  better  as  we  shall 
know  ourselves  better.  For  we  are  nearer  to  Thee  today  than 
we  have  been  before.  We  are  always  nearer  when  we  are 
thoughtful.  We  are  always  nearer  when  we  are  thinking  the 
deep  thoughts,  those  thoughts  of  God's  interest  in  life,  and  of 
His  concern  for  fullest  blessing  and  light.  May  that  be  our 
wish  today.  Still  our  hearts  before  Thee  and  enable  us  to 
think  Thy  thoughts,  as  they  have  been  interpreted  in  the  life 


William  Henry  Wishaed  131 

of  this  man  of  faith,  this  disciple  who  knew  his  Lord,  who 
followed  Him  in  the  humble  Christlike,  childlike  spirit,  and 
who  had  the  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding  in  the  joy 
of  his  Lord.    Amen. 

HYMN 

For  all  the  saints,  who  from  their  labours  rest, 
Who  Thee  by  faith  before  the  world  confessed. 
Thy  name,  O  Jesus,  be  forever  bless'd. 

Alleluia. 

Thou  wast  their  rock,  their  fortress,  and  their  might; 
Thou,  Lord,  their  Captain  in  the  well-fought  fight; 
Thou,  in  the  darkness  drear,  the  Light  of  light. 

Alleluia. 

O  may  Thy  soldiers,  faithful,  true,  and  bold, 
Fight  as  the  saints  who  nobly  fought  of  old, 
And  win,  with  them,  the  victor's  crown  of  gold. 

Alleluia. 

O  blest  Communion,  fellowship  divine ! 
We  feebly  struggle,  they  in  glory  shine ; 
Yet  all  are  one  in  Thee,  for  all  are  Thine. 

Alleluia. 

And  when  the  strife  is  fierce,  the  warfare  long. 
Steals  on  the  ear  the  distant  triumph-song, 
And  hearts  are  brave  again,  and  arms  are  strong. 

Alleluia. 

The  golden  evening  brightens  in  the  west; 
Soon,  soon  to  faithful  warriors  comes  the  rest; 
Sweet  is  the  calm  of  Paradise  the  Bless'd. 

Alleluia. 

But  lo  I  there  breaks  a  yet  more  glorious  day; 
The  saints  triumphant  rise  in  bright  array; 
The  King  of  Glory  passes  on  His  way. 

Alleluia. 

From  earth's  wide  bounds,  from  ocean's  farthest  coast, 
Througii  gates  of  pearl  streams  in  the  countless  host, 
Singing  to  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

Alleluia. 


132  William  Henry  Wishard 

The  Rev.  M.  L.  Haines,  D.  D. 

For  long  years  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard  has  been  identified 
as  the  beloved  member  and  honored  officer  of  the  Seventh 
Presbyterian  church  of  our  city.  The  pastor  of  that  church, 
under  whose  charge  these  services  are  being  held,  and  who  is 
to  speak  to  us  regarding  the  life  and  character  of  our  venera- 
ble friend,  has  asked  me  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  him, 
first  as  a  Christian  physician.  I  see  here  this  afternoon  mem- 
bers of  that  profession  from  our  city  and  our  state,  all  of 
whom  knew  Doctor  Wishard  personally,  and  some  of  whom 
have  been  closely  associated  with  him  in  professional  life  and 
labors  for  a  half  century. 

The  few  words  that  I  can  speak  at  this  time  are  pitifully 
inadequate  to  express  what  you  know  in  such  fulness,  but  it 
must  be  a  gratification  to  you,  the  members  of  that  profession 
with  which  he  was  identified,  to  realize  how  it  has  been 
adorned  by  the  unselfish,  beneficent  life  and  labors  of  this 
capable,  conscientious  physician. 

I  am  the  son  and  grandson  of  physicians  who  lived  and  prac- 
ticed in  Indiana  in  former  years.  I  used  to  think  as  a  boy  in 
a  small  town  that  the  life  of  a  physician  and  of  a  minister  was 
far  from  desirable.  I  saw  something  of  the  hardships  and  the 
self-denial  which  those  callings  required  in  those  days  in  such 
communities ;  but  now  I  am  persuaded  fully  that  there  are  no 
callings  on  this  earth  which  give  larger  opportunities  for  per- 
sonal influence  for  good  and  help  that  are  of  special  value  in 
the  lives  of  men  and  women  about  them  than  those  of  the 
minister  and  the  physician.  Naturally  all  of  us  this  afternoon 
are  impressed  by  the  unusual  length  of  life  of  this  good  man. 
Born  eleven  months  before  the  territory  of  Indiana  became  a 
state,  he  has  seen  and  had  no  small  part  in  the  wonderful 
changes  that  have  been  wrought  since  this  forest-covered  ter- 


William  Henry  Wishaed  133 

ritory,  with  its  few  small  settlements,  and  its  far  separated 
cabins,  has  been  built  up  by  the  unceasing  labors  and  the  strug- 
gles and  the  sacrifices  of  the  pioneers  to  its  present  high  place 
among  the  commonwealths  of  our  nation. 

The  far-reaching  influence  for  good  of  a  life  Hke  his  should 
not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  thought  of  the  length  of  the  years 
of  that  life  on  earth.  His  personal  labors  as  a  physician  were 
mostly  confined  to  Indiana,  and  to  those  southern  states  to 
which  he  went  during  the  four  years  of  the  war  into  the  camps 
and  hospitals  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Union.  How  finely  he 
showed  his  patriotic  devotion  as  a  physician  in  those  years; 
his  courage  and  his  wisdom  during  the  time  of  our  great  civil 
strife.  The  services  he  rendered,  as  some  of  you  well  know, 
as  a  volunteer  army  surgeon,  refusing  all  pay  except  that  for 
his  necessary  expenses,  while  the  services  he  rendered  in  first 
suggesting  that  the  wounded  and  sick  soldier  boys  in  the 
southern  camps  and  hospitals  should,  if  possible,  be  brought 
back  to  their  homes,  where  their  chances  for  getting  well 
would  be  much  improved,  was  an  achievement,  born  in  his 
m.ind  and  heart,  suggested  and  planned  by  him,  and  then 
pushed  through  by  Indiana's  great  war  governor.  In  spite  of 
opposition  at  Washington,  the  plan  was  approved  and  ordered 
by  President  Lincoln  himself  to  be  carried  out;  so  that  not 
only  to  Indiana  but  to  all  the  northern  states  where  arrange- 
ments could  be  made  the  sick  and  wounded  were  brought  back. 

Pardon  a  personal  reference.  When  I  first  came  to  In- 
dianapolis some  twenty-eight  years  ago,  I  was  a  guest  for  a 
day  at  his  home  the  week  following  my  arrival;  he  reminded 
me  of  a  fact  of  which  I  was  not  aware  until  then,  that  his  pre- 
ceptor in  medicine  was  Dr.  B.  S.  Noble,  and  that  Dr.  B.  S. 
Noble's  preceptor  in  the  early  years  of  the  century  was  my 
grandfather,  then  a  practicing  physician  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  state;  and  so  he  graciously  counted  himself  as,  in  his 


134  William  Henry  Wishard 

professional  life,  especially  indebted  to  my  ancestor.  I  was 
proud  always  to  keep  in  mind  that  fact.  In  the  personal  con- 
versations that  I  have  been  privileged  to  have  with  him  in  these 
later  years  he  recounted  in  detail  varied  experiences  of  him- 
self and  other  physicians  of  our  state  in  those  early  times.  The 
address  which  he  gave  some  eight  years  ago  as  the  retiring 
president  of  the  Indianapolis  Medical  Society,  setting  forth 
the  struggles  and  difficulties  and  notable  achievements  of  the 
pioneer  doctors  of  our  commonwealth,  is  of  especial  value  as 
a  vivid,  historical  setting  forth  of  the  conditions  of  life  then, 
especially  as  regards  health  and  disease.  To  hear  him  tell  of 
the  experiences  of  those  days,  of  the  hardships  of  life  in  the 
dense  woods,  of  the  prejudices  and  superstitions  of  not  a  few 
of  the  settlers,  of  the  "isms"  and  nostrums  of  ignorant  healers, 
of  the  epidemics  of  cholera,  smallpox  and  the  like,  of  the  horse- 
back journeys  from  cabin  to  cabin  by  the  physicians;  to  hear 
him  tell  of  these  things  in  his  clear  straightforward  way  was 
a  revelation  not  only  of  the  early  life  in  the  state,  but  a 
revelation  of  the  man  who  told  them.  He  did  not  speak  of 
these  things  in  any  manner  to  make  a  display  of  his  own  abili- 
ties or  skill.  He  was  above  any  weak  personal  vanity  of  that 
kind.  The  personal  recitals  were  nevertheless  a  disclosure,  all 
unconscious  to  himself,  of  those  sterling  qualities  of  Christian 
manhood  which  were  back  of  all  his  beneficent  activities  dur- 
ing three  score  and  five  years  of  professional  life. 

I  saw  in  an  editorial  in  one  of  our  city  papers  this  statement 
regarding  Doctor  Wishard:  "He  was  one  of  the  soundest, 
sweetest,  most  sincere  and  lovable  of  men." 

Those  words,  though  sweeping,  are  none  too  strong.  He 
was  all  that,  and  more.  He  was  sane  in  judgment.  He  was 
straightforward.  He  was  honest.  He  was  sturdy.  He  was 
genuinely  kindhearted.  While  we  should  hold  him  in  the 
esteem  that  he  so  richly  deserved  because  of  all  that  he  has 


William  Henry  Wishaed  135 

done  in  his  long  life  for  the  welfare  of  society,  we  should  hold 
him  in  even  greater  honor  for  what  he  showed  himself  to  be 
in  the  essential  quality  of  his  manhood.  For  after  all,  charac- 
ter is  more  than  achievement.  It  is  behind  all  true  and 
lasting  achievement.  Humboldt  said  "The  finest  earth  holds 
up  to  its  Maker  is  a  man."  It  is  a  good  thing  to  be  a  great 
man.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  a  good  man,  and  Dr.  William 
H.  Wishard  was  a  man  of  that  sort. 

Long  ages  ago  Hippocrates  gave  this  definition  of  the  physi- 
cian :  "A  good  man,  skilled  in  healing."  Doctor  Wishard  was  a 
genuinely  religious  man.  He  had  more  than  religious  opin- 
ions. He  had  convictions.  They  were  inwrought  into  the 
very  fiber  of  his  life.  He  sought  first  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  not  professional  or  commercial  advancement.  He  gave, 
through  long  years,  the  first  place  to  the  claims  of  his  church. 
I  have  been  privileged  to  be  with  him  many  times  in  the  annual 
meetings  of  the  Presbytery,  and  sometimes  in  the  meetings  of 
our  Synod  and  our  General  Assembly.  He  did  not  share  at 
all  in  the  shallow  estimate  that  some  have,  in  our  time,  of  the 
place  and  importance  of  religion,  and  the  institutions  of  re- 
ligion. His  thoughts  and  his  sympathies  widened  out  into  all 
the  far-reaching  lines  of  work  of  the  Christian  church  the 
world  round.  He  had  the  joy  of  seeing  his  relatives  and  his 
children  take  places  of  influence  in  that  work  of  the  church, 
both  in  our  own  and  in  lands  beyond  the  sea.  He  had  a  wide 
vision  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  its  coming  in  this  earth, 
and  he  not  only  prayed,  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  but  he  gave 
and  he  labored  for  its  coming. 

In  these  later  days,  when  the  infirmities  of  advanced  age 
were  upon  him,  his  eye  was  not  so  dim  but  that  he  saw  the 
evidences  of  its  onward  movements  and  rejoiced  in  them.  He 
has  enjoyed  the  rich  heritage  of  a  fruitful  and  honorable  life, 
and  during  these  later  years,  amid  increasing  bodily  infirm- 


136  William  Henry  Wishard 

ities,  with  clearness  of  mind,  strength  of  memory  and  healthy, 
hearty  interest  in  the  life  of  our  generation,  he  preserved  his 
spirit  of  hopefulness,  of  kindliness,  and  of  faith  in  God,  and 
now  this  "beloved  physician" — how  much  that  phrase  of 
Scripture  means  when  applied  to  him — this  "beloved  physi- 
cian," with  character  unstained,  with  face  uplifted  in  answer 
to  the  call  from  above,  has  passed  into  the  presence  of  that 
Lord  of  life  whom  he  loved  so  devotedly  and  served  so  faith- 
fully. 

"Servant  of  God,  well  done; 
Rest  from  thy  loved  employ. 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won, 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy." 

The  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver. 

"The  path  of  the  just  is  as  a  dawning  light  that  shineth 
brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day."  I  have  read  to 
you  these  words  of  the  ancient  wise  man,  adopting  one  word 
from  the  revised  version  of  Scripture  which  seems  to  express 
more  accurately  not  only  the  literal  truth  but  its  application 
to  this  life  which  is  in  our  thought  this  hour — a  "dawning" 
light,  instead  of  a  shining  light.  For  our  brother  and  senior 
who  is  gone  would  be  reluctant  to  speak  of  his  career  as  spec- 
tacular or  pyrotechnic.  But,  undoubtedly,  there  was  a  glow 
and  a  warmth,  a  dawning  aurora  there  that  was  pleasant,  that 
was  peaceful,  that  was  inspiring.  And  so  we  may  feel  that 
his  path  was  as  the  "path  of  the  just,"  which  is  as  a  dawning 
light  growing  "brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day." 
It  was  a  pathway  through  the  sunshine,  not  through  the  fog. 
These  days,  in  our  professional  schools  sometimes  our  young 
men  enter  a  fog  of  doubt,  of  question. 

It  was  not  so  with  this  physician.  He  was  always  on  the  sun- 
shine highway.   He  was  always  in  the  leading  of  the  day  star, 


William  Henry  Wishard  137 

the  star  of  Bethlehem,  which  illuminated  his  soul  as  well  as  his 
pathway.  He  had  that  light  "that  lighteth  every  man  that  Com- 
eth into  the  world,"  the  light  which  reacheth  into  the  depth  of 
consciousness.  So  much  of  life  these  days  is  superficial,  so 
much  of  intellectual  leading  these  days  reaches  no  deeper  than 
present  opinions.  It  fails  to  touch  the  depth  of  soul,  the  depth 
of  consciousness.  There  are  many  apparently  educated  men 
and  women  who  lack  the  depth  of  development  which  was  our 
brother's  privilege.  For  his  illumination  was  not  merely  in  his 
professional  career.  His  illumination  was  broader  than  that. 
It  was  an  illumination  which  reached  out  into  his  medical 
practice.  In  my  own  experience  in  this  city  it  has  been  my 
privilege  to  meet  men  and  women  to  whom  he  ministered  pro- 
fessionally, and  his  ministrations  were  always  broader  than 
to  the  body.  That  glow  of  hope,  that  radiance  of  faith,  al- 
ways went  into  the  sickroom.  They  left  there  the  evidence 
and  conviction  of  the  presence  of  God  Almighty.  It  was  a 
radiance  which  had  its  healing  ministry  as  well  as  its  spiritual 
inspiration.  It  was  a  radiance  which  pervaded  his  home  life; 
happy  home  relations  here,  these  of  which  we  hear;  blessed 
ties  of  which  the  world  knoweth  not;  unwritten  harmonies 
of  domestic  bliss,  echoes  of  that  heavenly  life  yet  to  be  re- 
sumed ;  for  that  was  his  privilege,  that  was  his  hope. 

He  was  only  discouraged  and  discontented  here  because  the 
last  few  years  had  witnessed  the  separation  of  the  home  ties. 
He  looked  forward  because  he  knew  God  Almighty  would  not 
stifle  pure  domestic  love.  He  was  confident  of  immortality 
because  he  had  the  fruitage  of  immortal  life  in  his  own  home 
and  in  his  own  life.  He  knew  well  the  meaning  of  immortal 
love  because  he  had  tasted  it  in  the  sunlight  of  God's  love ; 
and  so  this  shining  pathway  gave  him  illumination  for  a  well- 
balanced  life.  It  was  the  path  of  the  "just,"  and  that  is  a 
word  which  you  and  I  would  covet  in  connection  with  our 


138  William  Henry  Wishaed 

own  life.  We  might  not  care  for  piety,  we  might  not  long 
for  honor,  or  for  skill  or  culture,  but  we  do  covet  that  word 
"just."  The  path  of  the  just  is  a  path  which  we  may  all  seek 
to  follow.  This  path  had  a  fourfold  leading.  It  was  a  jus- 
tice developed  because  of  four  rays  of  light,  because  of  four 
tones  of  character.  There  was  a  justice  manifest  in  his  fair 
judgment  of  others.  Never  a  word  of  harsh  criticism  from 
his  lips.  He  may  have  differed  from  others,  but  his  judg- 
ment was  always  kindly. 

His  relations  in  the  home,  in  the  office,  partook  of  that  jus- 
tice which  went  out  into  all  experiences  of  life;  went  out  be- 
cause it  was  founded  upon  a  broad  fourfold  basis,  a  clear  un- 
derstanding of  human  nature  obtained  in  that  varied  school  of 
early  experience  among  the  pioneers  of  this  region.  His  uni- 
versity was  not  the  one  of  which  you  and  I  think,  but  the  uni- 
versity of  neighborly  association  with  human  nature,  in  the 
fields,  at  the  mill,  in  the  courthouse,  along  the  roadside,  with 
the  plain  people.  He  became  informed  as  to  the  meaning  of  life 
in  its  diversity  and  in  its  naturalness.  Numerous  were  his  ex- 
periences in  times  of  sorrow,  in  times  of  gladness,  in  times  of 
national  depression,  in  times  of  national  development;  experi- 
ences which  gave  him  a  true  knowledge  of  human  nature — ver- 
itable necessities,  if  we  are  to  be  just.  For  if  we  are  to  be  just 
we  must  be  broadly  informed.  Other  experiences,  later,  in  the 
medical  school,  in  the  realms  of  science,  in  the  realms  of  culture 
as  it  was  at  that  time,  further  broadened  his  vision,  enabling 
him  to  see  life,  not  superficially  but  deeply.  And  shall  we  omit 
those  trying  experiences  in  public  affairs,  still  later  on,  when 
he  went  on  that  mission  as  army  surgeon,  thinking  of  the  af- 
fairs of  state  and  country,  bearing  the  burden  of  the  soldier 
on  the  field  of  battle?  All  these  experiences  so  very  necessary 
to  a  well-balanced  life,  blended  with  his  religious  experience, 
which  was  broader  and  deeper  than  all.  This  came  to  him 
along  the  roadside  of  his  professional  calling,  in  the  campaigns 


William  Henry  Wishard  139 

of  battle,  in  his  home  Hfe,  and  amidst  the  sorrows  of  later 
years;  developing  in  this  fourfold  way  the  manhood  of  which 
our  leading  newspaper  has  said,  "Foursquare  to  all  the  winds 
that  blow."  And  yet,  with  all  its  stability  this  character  was  not 
fixed  in  an  arbitrary  way;  nor  was  it  established  so  that  it 
could  not  adapt  itself  to  the  development  of  the  time. 

He  was  a  progressive  in  the  large  sense  of  the  word.  He  was 
progressive  in  the  sense  that,  as  his  community  developed,  he 
could  adapt  himself  to  changed  conditions.  Remember  that  he 
rode  upon  the  first  railroad  train  that  entered  Indianapolis.  Re- 
member the  marvelous  and  remarkable  changes  from  that  time 
unto  this.  See  how  adaptable  he  was,  how  pliable  his  thought 
and  his  reason ;  that,  amidst  all  these  changes  he  could  remain 
a  "citizen  of  the  times"  unto  the  last.  He  could  remain  a  citi- 
zen who  could  think  with  the  later  generations  as  w'ith  the 
earlier  generations.  His  memory  was  remarkable  in  its  grasp 
of  things  gone  by.  His  reasonableness  was  agreeable  in  its 
appreciation  of  the  things  present.  He  was  a  conservative  in 
religion,  but  a  broad  conservative.  Like  Enoch  of  old,  he 
walked  with  God.  He  adapted  his  thought  to  the  changed 
conditions  of  human  life,  not  to  the  changed  conditions  of 
God's  purpose.  For  he  was  truly  a  man  of  God  in  appreciat- 
ing the  sovereign  and  unchanging  purpose  of  the  Almighty  as 
emphasized  by  the  church  of  his  choice.  He  was  a  conserva- 
tive in  discerning  amidst  all  of  the  superficial  changes  of  our 
times  the  undercurrent  of  that  mighty  purpose  of  the  eternal 
and  all-wise  Father. 

For  that  reason,  there  was  poise  and  solidity  to  his 
life.  For  that  reason,  it  moved  on  and  on.  Indeed,  if 
you  and  I  are  to  walk  with  God  we  must  move,  we  must 
progress  in  the  realms  of  His  purpose.  Hence  such  causes 
as  missions,  temperance,  the  larger  and  higher  union  of 
churches,  unswerving  honesty  in  citizenship,  were  causes  with 
which  he  was  in  sympathy.   He  appreciated  the  diverse  respon- 


140  William  Henry  Wishard 

sibilities  of  the  church  of  God  in  these  days.  Because  his  ap- 
preciation was  so  sympathetic,  he  more  truly  "walked  with 
God."  There  are  those  who  unite  with  the  church,  who  enroll 
themselves  and  think  their  religious  experience  ended.  Not  so 
this  elder  of  seventy  years  experience;  not  so  this  man  of 
faith  and  of  spiritual  adjustment.  He  walked  with  God  in 
watching,  in  sympathizing  with  the  apparently  changing  pur- 
pose which  is  in  the  mind  of  God  as  he  deals  with  this  chang- 
ing age  in  which  we  live.  For  that  reason  his  movement 
was  brighter  and  brighter.  For  that  reason  there  was  no 
shadow  at  the  close.  "At  even-time  it  shall  be  light,"  says 
the  Prophet.  In  the  radiance  of  the  sunset  he  did  not  fear 
the  shadow  nor  the  gloom  of  the  dark  valley.  That  radiance 
of  his  sunset  was  only  the  opening  of  the  silken  clouds  into 
the  fuller  life;  for  the  life  of  faith  is  not  the  life  which  ends 
in  tragedy. 

It  was  said  of  another  Christian  citizen,  by  one  of  our  lead- 
ing daily  papers  at  the  close  of  his  life.  "For  us  mourning, 
but  for  him  morning;"  and  I  think  that  is  the  application  here 
today.  For  us  mourning,  but  for  him  morning;  the  morning 
of  eternal,  fuller,  glorified  life,  planted  by  the  spirit  of  God 
in  human  consciousness.  "Whom  the  gods  love  die  young" 
was  the  ancient  adage,  but  I  like  the  way  Marion  Crawford 
has  supplemented  that  by  saying,  "Whom  the  gods  love  die 
young,  because  they  never  grow  old;"  and  I  like  to  think  that 
this  man  of  faith  never  grew  old,  in  the  spiritual  sense;  that 
he  was  always  living  in  perennial  thought  and  sympathy  with 
his  God.  For  that  reason  there  was  always  a  buoyant  vital- 
ity in  spiritual  things.  The  first  hymn  you  heard  this  after- 
noon was  his  creed  in  rhyme,  in  harmony: 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have, 

A  God  to  glorify, 
A  never  dying  soul  to  save, 

And  fit  it  for  the  sky. 


William  Hexey  Wishard  141 

That  was  his  platform.  That  was  the  reason  that  he 
had  a  purpose  in  hfe,  that  he  had  a  pohcy  for  his  profes- 
sional and  domestic  and  political  career;  and  that  was  the 
reason  that  there  was  depth  as  well  as  breadth  to  this  man  of 
justice.  That  is  the  reason  that  there  was  a  symmetry  there 
which  at  the  close  enables  us  to  see  a  life  ripe  in  its  fulness, 
like  as  a  shock  of  com  cometh  in  its  season.  The  maturity 
of  life  is  no  occasion  for  great  lament.  The  maturity  of  life 
is  merely  the  time  for  recognizing  the  goodness  of  God  in  the 
long  and  manifold  experiences  through  which  he  has  passed. 
The  symmetry  of  life  is  the  guarantee  for  that  life  which  is 
fuller  and  younger.  The  symmetry  of  life  enables  us  to  say 
"Oh  death,  where  is  thy  sting;  oh  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?" 
Thanks  be  unto  God  who  giveth  us  victory,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Prayer,  The  Rev.  M.  L.  Haines,  D.  D. 

Oh  God,  Thou  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
our  fathers  looked  unto  Thee  and  were  lightened,  and 
their  faces  were  not  ashamed.  We  lift  our  hearts  unto  Thee 
this  day.  We  adore  Thee  for  all  Thy  goodness  and  loving 
kindness  revealed  unto  the  children  of  men  through  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  gospel  of  infinite  love  and  of  eternal  life.  We 
are  grateful  for  the  good  examples  of  all  Thy  serv^ants  who, 
having  finished  their  course  in  faith,  do  now  rest  from  their 
labors  and  are  with  Thee.  We  bring  Thee,  even  in  our  sor- 
row this  day,  the  tribute  of  our  gratitude  for  the  life  of  the 
man  whom  Thou  hast  called  unto  Thyself,  whom  Thou  hast 
spared  to  be  so  long  with  us.  Thou  hast  taught  us  that  the 
memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.  May  the  memories  that  are 
ours  this  day  be  an  inspiration  to  us  in  the  days  to  come. 
Comfort,  we  pray  Thee,  Thy  servants  endeared  to  him  by  ties 
of  affection  and  of  kinship.     May  the  peace  of  God  that  pas- 


142  William  Henry  Wishard 

seth  all  understanding  keep  their  hearts  and  lives  through 
Jesus  Christ.  Strengthen  Thy  servants  associated  with  him 
in  that  profession  of  service  of  humanity  to  which  Thou  didst 
call  him.  May  his  example  and  his  spirit  be  an  abiding  bene- 
diction to  them. 

We  thank  Thee  for  all  that  Thou  didst  enable  him  by  Thy 
grace  to  be  and  do.  We  beseech  Thee  that  Thou  wilt  help 
us  to  walk  in  the  same  path  of  loyalty  to  God  and  to  right- 
eousness and  to  country  in  which  he  walked,  sustained  by  Thy 
grace;  that  Thou  wilt  enable  us  to  do  in  our  day  and  genera- 
tion, as  far  as  we  have  opportunity,  the  work  to  which  we  are 
summoned  in  Thy  good  providence ;  and  that  Thou  wilt  bring 
us  all  at  last,  redeemed  from  every  infirmity,  cleansed  from 
every  stain  of  evil,  to  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.    Amen, 

HYMN 

The  sands  of  time  are  sinking ;  the  dawn  of  heaven  breaks : 
The  summer  morn  I've  sighed  for,  the  fair,  sweet  morn  awakes. 
Dark,  dark,  hath  been  the  midnight,  but  day-spring  is  at  hand. 
And  glory,  glory  dwelleth  in  Emmanuel's  land. 

0  Christ,  He  is  the  fountain,  the  deep,  sweet  well  of  love ! 
The  streams  on  earth  I've  tasted ;  more  deep  I'll  drink  above. 
There  to  an  ocean  fullness  His  mercy  doth  expand, 

And  glory,  glory  dwelleth  in  Emmanuel's  land. 

With  mercy  and  with  judgment  my  web  of  time  He  wove. 
And  aye  the  dews  of  sorrow  were  lustred  by  His  love : 
I'll  bless  the  hand  that  guided,  I'll  bless  the  heart  that  plann'd. 
When  throned  where  glory  dwelleth  in  Emmanuel's  land. 

The  bride  eyes  not  her  garment,  but  her  dear  bridegroom's  face ; 

1  will  not  gaze  at  glory,  but  on  my  King  of  grace; 
Not  at  the  crown  He  gif  teth,  but  on  His  pierced  hand : 
The  Lamb  is  all  the  glory  of  Emmanuel's  land. 


William  Henry  Wishard  143 


Benediction^  The  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver. 

And  now  may  the  Lord  bless  us  and  keep  us.  May  the 
Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon  us  and  be  gracious  unto 
us.  May  the  Lord  hft  his  countenance  up  on  us  and  give  us 
peace,  the  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding,  into  the  lead- 
ership and  guidance  of  Almighty  God.  Amen. 


MEMORIAL   MEETING   OF   THE   INDIAN- 
APOLIS MEDICAL  SOCIETY 

Thursday  Evening,  December  ii,  iQis,  Library,  Indiana  Med- 
ical College,  Dr.  Allison  Maxwell,  Presiding 

DOCTOR  Maxwell:  Gentlemen,  we  are  met  this  evening, 
as  you  all  know,  to  take  action  in  regard  to  the  death  of 
one  of  the  founders  of  this  Society.  I  regret  very  much  that 
our  president,  Doctor  Ferguson,  is  not  able  to  be  here  in  order 
that  he  might  preside  over  this  meeting.  At  his  request  I 
take  the  chair. 

I  have  known  Doctor  Wishard  since  he  first  came  to  this 
city,  nearly  thirty-eight  years  ago.  In  fact,  I  was  his  succes- 
sor as  the  coroner  of  this  county  one-third  of  a  century  ago. 
I  knew  very  well  the  work  he  did  as  coroner,  and  I  learned 
at  that  time  the  sterling  integrity  which  possessed  him.  At 
that  time,  as  possibly  some  of  you  may  know,  he  was  very  con- 
scientious in  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the  office.  In 
fact,  he  did  not  charge  the  county  really  what  was  coming  to 
him.  He  would  deduct  for  this  and  that,  and  would  shorten 
the  number  of  witnesses,  for  at  that  time  the  coroner  was 
not  paid  a  stated  sum  as  he  is  now,  but  w^as  paid  by  the  num- 
ber of  cases  on  which  he  held  inquest,  or  in  which  he  con- 
ducted a  hearing.  I  know  that  Doctor  Wishard  in  many  in- 
stances would,  in  order  to  protect  the  county  and  keep  from 
running  up  a  bill,  do  many  things  to  aid  in  this  line ;  and  then 
when  I  became  coroner  you  may  understand  it  was  a  little  hard 
for  me  to  hew  to  the  same  line.  I  would  state,  however,  that 
as  coroner,  Doctor  Wishard  probably  received  twelve  hundred 
dollars  a  year  from  the  office,  and  I  probably  got  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars.     I  know  that  some  of  my  successors  have  got 

144 


William  Henry  Wishard  145 

as  much  as  six  or  seven  thousand  dollars  a  year  out  of  it. 
I  simply  bring  this  forward  to  show  you  the  sterling  integ- 
rity of  this  man. 

Doctor  Wishard  was  a  man  of  very  systematic  mind.  He 
stored  his  facts  in  the  different  compartments  of  his  brain, 
as  it  were,  I  might  say,  and  then  when  he  wished  to  speak  to 
the  medical  society,  when  he  wished  to  narrate  an  anecdote, 
when  he  wished  to  speak  to  the  Presbytery  of  his  church,  or 
to  an  old  settlers'  meeting,  he  was  capable  of  drawing  out 
these  facts  from  the  various  compartments  of  his  brain,  and 
presenting  them  in  a  very  systematic  and  clear  way.  This 
was  one  of  Doctor  Wishard's  strong  points.  I  remember 
what  his  son,  Dr.  William  N.  Wishard,  knows  very  well,  as  he 
studied  under  the  same  professor  of  obstetrics  at  Miami  Med- 
ical College,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Dr.  William  H.  Taylor,  that  it 
was  Doctor  Taylor's  method  of  presenting  his  subject  to  his 
classes.  He  was  a  Quaker,  and  his  language  was  simple,  like 
the  Quaker  language.  Doctor  Wishard  always  reminded  me 
of  him,  and  I  could  remember  more  of  what  Doctor  Taylor 
said  than  of  any  other  professor  in  the  college  because  of  his 
simple  manner  of  presenting  facts;  and  so  with  Doctor  Wish- 
ard. He  had  a  simple  manner  of  drawing  out  the  facts  and 
presenting  them  upon  whatever  topic  he  might  talk.  I  learned 
to  love  Doctor  Wishard,  and  called  on  him  only  about  three 
weeks  ago.  Unfortunately,  he  had  a  very  restless  night  and 
was  sleeping,  and  I  did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  see  him. 
He  was  a  man  whom  we  should  all  emulate,  a  man  who  made 
an  impression  upon  the  medical  profession  of  this  city  and 
state.    The  meeting  is  now  open  for  your  action. 

Dr.  a.  W.  Brayton  :  Mr.  President — On  my  own  motion, 
yesterday  afternoon,  I  requested  Doctor  Heath  to  make  some 
opening  statement  that  might  Ije  accessible  to  the  medical  press 


146  William  Henry  Wishard 

in  regard  to  Doctor  Wishard  and  I  hope  that  you  will  invite 
Doctor  Heath  to  present  what  he  has  prepared. 

Dr.  F.  C.  Heath  :  The  Good  Book  pictures  a  man  of 
years  to  whom  the  infant  Savior  was  taken  for  a  blessing,  a 
just  man,  a  devout  man,  full  of  faith  and  hope,  his  exalted 
character  being  but  the  ripened  fruit  of  a  true  and  virtuous 
life.  Such  a  man  was  our  beloved  friend,  Dr.  William  H. 
Wishard,  whose  loss  we  mourn  tonight. 

Strong  characters  need  certain  factors  for  their  develop- 
ment. Is  it  heredity  or  environment  that  counts  most  in  a 
man's  life?  Is  it  not  true  that  both  are  essential  elements? 
There  must  be  somewhere  in  one's  ancestry  the  seeds  of  char- 
acter, and  there  must  be,  in  his  life,  experiences  that  will  fur- 
nish the  soil  and  elements  for  growth  and  full  fruition.  Of 
an  ancestry  that  figured  among  the  religious  martyrs  of  Scot- 
land and  among  the  heroes  of  the  American  Revolution,  it 
is  not  strange  that  our  friend  showed  in  his  life  fidelity  to 
duty,  constancy  in  virtue,  loyalty  to  truth.  Had  he  been  born 
to  wealth  and  ease,  these  qualities  might  have  l^ecome  dor- 
mant, but,  as  a  pioneer  and  a  constant  worker  with  difficul- 
ties of  every  kind  before  him,  he  found  that  discipline  in  his 
experience  that  made  him  strong  and  useful  in  his  long  career 
as  doctor,  citizen,  parent  and  brother-man.  Of  him  could  it 
be  truly  said :  "He  was  a  friend  to  man." 

Born  in  Kentucky,  January  17,  1816,  he  came  to  Indiana 
with  his  parents  when  nine  years  old,  settling  ten  miles  south 
of  Indianapolis.  Nearly  all  his  days  were  spent,  therefore, 
in  this  city  or  its  immediate  vicinity.  He  saw  Indianapolis 
grow  from  nothing  or  next  to  nothing  to  the  greatest  inland 
city  of  America.  He  personally  met  and  knew  every  gov- 
ernor of  Indiana,  from  Jonathan  Jennings  to  Samuel  M.  Ral- 
ston. 

The  boys  of  that  early  day  had  none  of  the  advantages 


William  Henry  Wishard  147 

of  today.  Yet,  in  many  ways,  this  was  a  blessing — to  have  to 
do  things  for  oneself,  to  brave  dangers,  surmount  difficul- 
ties, meet  emergencies;  what  better  school  to  draw  out  and 
develop  strength  and  sturdiness  of  character?  His  educa- 
tional advantages  were  limited  as  far  as  attendance  at  school 
was  concerned,  but  he  made  the  most  of  what  he  had,  and 
learned  more  in  the  university  of  life. 

In  1838,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  began  his  medical 
studies,  supplementing  them  by  attending  lectures  in  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana  medical  colleges,  and,  in  1840,  he  became  the  part- 
ner of  Dr.  Benjamin  S.  Noble,  later  of  Dr.  Thomas  B.  Noble, 
and  still  later  of  Dr.  Thomas  B.  Noble,  Jr.,  having  thus  been 
in  professional  association  with  three  generations  of  the  Noble 
family.  Throughout  his  career  of  nearly  seventy  years  in  the 
active  practice  of  medicine,  he  shirked  no  duty,  but  responded 
to  the  sufferer's  call  with  little  thought  of  self  or  ease  or  fee. 
He  went  about  quietly  doing  good  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Great 
Physician.  Doubtless  he  received  the  blessing  given  those  who 
minister  in  His  name : 

"For  blessings  ever  wait  on  virtuous  deeds 
And  though  a  late,  a  sure  reward  succeeds." 

Alike  unselfish  in  his  public  life,  he  rendered  his  great  war 
service  for  the  good  of  the  cause  without  a  penny  of  finan- 
cial compensation,  including  the  work  of  bringing  the  sick  and 
wounded  from  Vicksburg  to  the  hospitals  of  the  North,  and, 
as  coroner  of  Marion  County  from  1876  to  1880,  when  others 
were  concerned  about  questions  of  politics  or  personal  gain, 
he  kept  up  a  steady,  unflinching  fight  for  the  right  and  against 
the  wrong  without  fear  or  favor. 

It  is  but  natural  that  such  a  man  should  have  received  hon- 
ors from  his  associates  in  the  great  profession  of  medicine, 
and  he  alone  had  the  distinction  of  having  been  president  and 


148  William  Henry  Wishard 

charter  member  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association  and 
the  Indianapolis  Medical  Society.  He  was  the  last  survivor 
of  those  who  met  in  1849  to  organize  the  state  association; 
was  elected  president  in  1888,  his  annual  address,  "A  Ret- 
rospect of  Fifty  Years  of  Practice,"  picturing  vividly  the 
progress  of  medicine  and  the  change  in  its  practice  from  the 
simplicity  and  hardships  of  the  early  times  to  the  day  of  mod- 
ern methods  and  modern  advantages.  Among  the  many  strik- 
ing things  in  the  address  were  his  forcible  contrast  between 
the  big  families  of  the  past  and  the  small  ones  of  the  present 
and  his  good  advice  to  young  doctors  :  "Let  not  our  young  men 
debase  their  calling  for  filthy  lucre,  but  keep  the  professional 
robe  unsullied  from  this  offense  against  the  laws  of  God  and 
man." 

He  visited  his  patients  for  years  on  horseback. 

Many  will  recall  a  paper  he  read  before  the  County  Medi- 
cal Society  some  twenty  years  ago  on  "Medical  Men  and  Med- 
ical Practice  in  the  Early  Days  of  Indianapolis,"  a  truthful 
and  kindly  record  of  his  worthy  compeers.  Upon  his  retire- 
ment from  the  presidency  of  the  Indianapolis  Medical  So- 
ciety, his  89th  birthday  anniversary,  he  was  presented  with 
a  beautiful  illuminated  scroll,  containing  resolutions  of  re- 
spect, affection  and  veneration  for  his  worth.  Two  years  ago 
he  made  the  address  of  welcome  to  the  State  Medical  Asso- 
ciation on  behalf  of  the  local  society,  speaking  as  follows : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Indiana  State  Medi- 
cal Association :  I  regret  that  I  have  not  the  mental  or  phys- 
ical ability  to  do  justice  to  an  occasion  of  this  kind.  It  over- 
powers me  to  meet  you  here  today.  Where,  oh,  where,  are 
the  men  who  were  with  me  when  we  organized  this  society? 
Gone  to  that  bourne  from  which  no  traveler  returns.  I  am 
the  only  one  who  survives. 

It  is  a  great  privilege  to  meet  with  you  here  today — and 
I  was  going  to  say,  see  you;  but  I  can  not  see  you.     It  is  a 


William  Henry  Wishard  149 

privilege  I  did  not  expect  to  have,  but  I  thank  you  for  the  wel- 
come you  have  given  me.  I  thank  God  that  I  am  permitted  to 
meet  with  you  once  more  this  side  of  the  Great  Beyond. 

There  are  many  things  I  would  like  to  speak  of,  but  my  in- 
firmities, the  result  of  old  age,  are  such  that  I  must  decline 
to  enter  into  any  discussion  or  lengthy  talk.  But  I  welcome 
you  to  our  city,  where  the  organization  first  met.  I  welcome 
you  as  medical  men  who  have  fought  battles  for  humanitv 
and  advanced  the  science  of  medicine.  When  I  look  back  to 
Chapman's  Therapeutics  and  Cooper's  Surgery,  the  works  I 
read  beginning  with  the  28th  day  of  February,  1838,  and 
compare  them  today,  it  is  not  the  same  profession.  I  look  at 
these  books  as  relics  of  bygone  days. 

Now,  permit  me  not  only  to  welcome  you,  but  to  advise  you 
to  rise  in  the  future,  as  your  fathers  have  in  the  past,  in  med- 
ical science  and  moral  worth,  and  in  everything  that  goes  to 
make  up  a  true  man  and  worthy  citizen. 

He  had  a  natural  eloquence,  a  ready  wit,  a  keen  and  force- 
ful intellect.  As  Doctor  Brayton  well  says,  in  his  biographical 
sketch  contributed  to  Stone's  Eminent  American  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,  "He  would  have  graced  the  pulpit,  or  been  an 
ornament  of  the  bar,  or  brought  dignity  and  virtue  into  po- 
litical life,  had  his  desires  led  him  along  any  one  of  these  pur- 
suits rather  than  to  the  practice  of  medicine." 

Doctor  Wishard  was  a  Presbyterian  elder  for  nearly  seventy 
years;  he  believed  in  a  religion  of  hope  and  joy  and  peace.  He 
lived  that  religion  in  his  daily  life — and  it  is  such  lives  as  his 
that  form  the  strongest  arguments  for  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity— a  sunny  and  kindly  life,  a  life  of  faith  in  God  and 
the  triumph  of  right,  a  life  of  influence  for  virtue,  peace  and 
hope.  We  all  loved  him ;  we  are  better  for  having  lived  with 
him  here ;  we  mourn  his  loss  as  one  personal  to  ourselves. 
Surely  we  can  say  of  him: 

"A  truer,  nobler,  trustier  heart, 
More  loving  or  more  loyal,  never  beat 
Within  a  human  breast." 


150  William  Henry  Wishard 

Dr.  L.  D.  Waterman  :  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of 
the  Association — It  was  my  privilege  to  know  Doctor  Wishard 
for  about  fifty  years.  I  simply  desire  to  add  my  testimony  to 
that  which  has  already  been  said  and  written  to  the  kindly 
qualities  of  his  soul,  to  his  sterling  integrity  and  honesty  as 
a  physician,  and  to  his  general  qualities  as  a  man. 

Dr.  E.  F.  Hodges  :  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen — I  think 
Doctor  Heath  has  said  what  we  all,  who  knew  Doctor  Wish- 
ard well,  will  concur  in;  what  he  has  said  about  his  qualities  of 
heart  and  mind.  I  knew  him  myself  within  a  week  of  my 
com.ing  here,  thirty- four  years  ago.  I  remember  meeting  him 
then  for  the  first  time,  professionally.  He  was  a  new  type 
of  man  to  me  altogether;  a  strong,  rugged,  forceful  character, 
and  I  saw  at  once  that  he  w^as  a  man  of  very  great  parts,  of 
very  great  intelligence  and  possessed  of  very  great  common 
sense.  More  than  that,  withal,  he  was  a  man  of  wisdom.  He 
had  a  reason  for  what  he  thought  and  what  he  did,  but  through 
everything  there  was  a  fund  of  kindness.  He  thought  and  al- 
ways acted  kindly,  and  those  who  knew  him  well  will  like 
best  to  remember  that  characteristic. 

One  thing  that  has  not  been  touched  upon  is  his  great  con- 
viction regarding  the  necessity  of  concord  and  accord  and  good 
will  among  his  professional  brethren.  He  stood  out  against 
all  contention,  and  was  a  power  for  peace  and  good  will  among 
us.  We  have  lost  a  good  friend  in  that  respect,  because  I 
think  we  are  all  a  little  too  ready  to  lend  our  ear  to  what  mere 
gossip  says  concerning  our  relations  to  one  another,  misleading 
our  minds  as  to  the  motives  of  other  practitioners,  when  we 
come  together  and  sometimes  clash  a  little.  Doctor  Wishard 
was  always  a  peacemaker.  His  aim  was  always  to  mend  the 
matter  if  he  could;  and  both  in  his  life  and  in  his  acts  and  in 
his  counsel  he  was  always  for  good  will  among  the  profession, 
believing  that  as  a  force  we  would  be  greater  if  that  might  be 


William  Henry  Wishaed  151 

maintained.  He  was  a  lovely  character,  growing  wiser  and 
softer,  it  seems  to  me,  and  kindlier  every  day  of  his  life. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  see  him  within  two  weeks  of  his 
death,  when  he  could  talk  to  me ;  and  even  then  he  spoke  words 
of  counsel  that  I  was  better  for  hearing.  I  rejoice  that  I  had 
the  privilege  of  seeing  him.  We  have  all  lost  a  good  friend, 
a  fine  character,  a  professional  elder  brother  whom  we  who 
knew  him  well  will  always  remember  and  revere. 

Dr.  G.  V.  Woolen  :  Mr.  President — I  hesitate  to  rise,  not 
because  I  have  not  a  good  subject  to  speak  of,  but  I  feel  on  an 
occasion  of  this  kind  my  inability  to  express  my  appreciation, 
my  regard  of  one  so  worthy  as  the  one  we  have  under  dis- 
cussion tonight. 

I  suppose  that  I  knew  Doctor  Wishard  longer  than  any  one 
here.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  meet  him  when  I  was  a  stu- 
dent of  Doctor  Bobbs.  In  fact,  I  remember  to  have  met  him 
a  time  or  two  before  that.  I  knew  him  practically  when  he  was 
a  young  man,  and  I  watched  his  career  because  of  the  distin- 
guished character  that  he  always  exhibited.  From  my  earliest 
recollection  a  kindly  and  encouraging  word  would  always  be 
given  me  when  I  met  him,  up  until  the  last  time  I  saw  him; 
and  it  would  be  unbecoming  in  one  unskilled  as  I  am  in  lan- 
guage and  in  public  speaking  to  try  to  do  better  than  has  been 
done  by  those  who  have  preceded  me.  Every  word  that  I 
have  heard  since  I  came  in  here  has  met  with  a  very  hearty 
response  in  my  mind  and  in  my  soul.  I  naturally  loved  Doctor 
Wishard  because  of  these  early  associations,  and  because  of 
the  uniform  kindness  and  encouragement  that  he  gave  me. 

He  used  Doctor  Bobbs  as  his  surgeon,  who  in  those  days 
was  prominent  as  a  surgeon,  and  I  saw  the  character  of  cases 
that  he  would  bring  to  Doctor  Bobbs,  who  was  genial  and 
always  responsive  to  his  professional  associates,  in  consul- 
tation and  in  every  relationship,  and  was  as  helpful  as  any 


152  William  Henry  Wishard 

man  I  ever  knew.  I  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  them  together 
in  my  early  m.edical  days,  and  it  was  always  an  inspiration  to 
me  to  see  how  they  handled  cases,  and  how  they  met  each 
other  in  consultation.  He  always  referred  to  Doctor  Bobbs, 
of  course,  as  a  surgeon.  He  came  for  that  purpose,  as  Doctor 
Wishard  was  a  general  practitioner.  As  I  talked  with  him  in 
those  early  days,  and  observed  him,  he  impressed  me  as  having 
an  immense  amount  of  natural  medical  sense.  We  have  all 
often  been  interested  in  hearing  him  narrate  his  experiences 
in  his  earlier  career;  how  he  got  out  of  different  difficulties 
when  he  had  none  of  the  facilities  that  we  now  have  for  diag- 
nosis and  treatment;  and  I  admired  the  marvelous  success 
that  he  had  in  those  early  days;  that  was  exhibited  uncon- 
sciously in  his  talks  and  reminiscences. 

He  kept  in  close  contact  with  medicine  and  was  able  to  talk 
to  doctors  of  the  day,  those  of  us  who  came  on  afterward, 
until  the  last  time  I  remember  to  have  seen  him  on  this  floor, 
when  he  showed  a  familiarity  with  medicine  as  it  has  advanced. 

He  would  tell  some  of  his  funny  stories  that  we  would  laugh 
about;  his  want  of  knowledge  in  his  early  experience,  and  how 
he  had  to  extemporize  and  draw  on  his  own  natural  ability — 
he  would  not  say  that,  of  course — but  he  had  to  draw  on  his 
own  natural  resources  to  manage  difficult  cases. 

He  kept  in  touch  with  medicine  longer  than  most  doctors  do ; 
and  not  only  in  touch,  but  from  time  to  time  we  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  having  him  in  consultation.  From  what  I  remember, 
and  from  what  I  know  of  his  experience  and  his  history,  he 
was  abreast  of  medicine  as  long  as  he  was  in  it.  He  did  not 
give  up  his  original  ways.  I  think  he  always  largely  furnished 
his  own  medicines,  but  he  knew  what  we  were  talking  about, 
what  you  younger  men  who  have  had  the  benefit  of  a  very 
much  better  education  than  he  had,  or  even  than  I  had,  were 
talking  about.   Since  sixty-five  years  ago  the  progress  of  med- 


William  Henry  Wishard  153 

icine  has  been  so  immense  that  it  staggers  one  who  has  gone 
over  the  ground  to  think  of  it.  Doctor  Wishard  always 
showed  a  great  familiarity  with  present-day  medicine.  He 
held  his  own  in  any  medical  discussion. 

I  remember  some  of  the  discussions  in  the  State  Medical 
Society  where  he,  in  his  emphatic  way,  would  advocate  his 
ideas,  and  they  were  very  seldom,  as  I  remember,  successfully 
controverted.  He  was  a  remarkable  man.  He  was  a  good 
man,  and  that  is  saying  more — he  was  a  good  man.  One  felt 
safe  in  his  counsel  and  in  his  friendship.  I  wish  I  could  really 
express  the  depth  of  my  feelings,  and  my  knowledge  of  him  in 
a  more  satisfactory  way. 

Some  of  us  are  beginning  to  feel  lonesome.  Our  associates 
of  thirty  and  forty  years  ago  are  largely  gone.  I  remember 
the  first  time  I  ever  met  Doctor  Waterman.  We  received  our 
diplomas  at  the  same  time,  and  I  remember  what  we  then 
thought  we  knew  about  obstetrics  and  surgery,  and  what  we 
didn't  know.  We  talked  about  laudable  pus.  Doctor  Wishard 
often  spoke  of  laudable  pus.  If  we  had  a  wound  that  had 
laudable  pus  we  felt  safe.  Think  of  the  immense  strides  that 
have  taken  place.  It  challenges  our  imagination,  which  does 
not  reach  to  the  profundity  of  the  advance  that  has  been  made ; 
but  to  the  great  credit  of  Doctor  Wishard  he  kept  abreast, 
as  largely  as  any,  with  the  progress  made  in  his  days;  and  if 
I  live  until  tomorrow  I  will  be  a  sincere  mourner  that  he  is 
gone  and  that  I  shall  never  hear  his  voice  again  or  see  him 
alive;  but  feeling  as  I  do,  believing  as  I  do  in  a  glorious  im- 
mortality, I  do  not  hesitate  to  state  now  that  Doctor  Wishard 
is  vastly  better  off.  So  that  while  we  mourn,  and  we  feel  sad, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  and  I  intensely  believe  just  what  I  say, 
that  he  is  better  off;  seventy  years  an  elder  in  the  church,  as 
distinguished  a  church  as  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  glorious 
a  church  as  it  is,  although  I  am  not  a  member  of  that  denom- 


154  William  Henry  Wishaed 

ination,  yet  I  feel  that  he  was  one  of  God's  own  men,  and  I  re- 
joice in  the  fact  that  he  has  set  us  this  illustrious  example. 

Dr.  William  T.  S.  Dodds:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen 
— I  feel  like  a  member  of  Doctor  Wishard's  family.  I  cer- 
tainly would  not  do  my  duty,  as  I  feel  it,  did  I  not  express  my 
appreciation  of  his  character  tonight. 

My  first  introduction  in  Indiana  medical  circles  was  in  Dr. 
W.  N.  Wishard's  office,  w^here  I  was  a  student.  In  a  day  or 
two  I  met  this  grand  old  man,  and  w^as  introduced  to  him. 
He  patted  me  on  the  shoulder  and  said,  "Son,  I  hope  that  you 
will  do  as  well  as  W.  N.  I  love  to  think  that  I  am  his  father." 
That  was  to  me  a  very  touching  remark,  and  afterward  I 
learned  why  the  father  could  make  it. 

When  I  was  in  his  home  and  learned  of  the  devotion,  the 
love  and  the  constancy,  the  almost  sublime  admiration  that  he 
had  for  his  wife,  who  was  one  of  the  noblest  women  Indiana 
ever  knew,  I  could  then  understand  why  Doctor  Wishard  was 
such  a  grand  old  man.  He  had  a  worthy  companion.  She 
passed  away  years  ago,  since  which  time  Doctor  Wishard  was 
lonesome,  but  his  family,  built  of  the  same  stock — and  blood 
tells  in  men  as  it  does  in  animals — were  his  supporters  and  re- 
lief. Many  are  the  stories  that  I  remember  Doctor  Wishard 
has  told,  all  of  them  full  of  interest,  all  of  them  to  a  point. 
His  anecdotes  reminded  me  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  stories 
when  he  wished  to  illustrate  things.  He  was  logical,  he  was 
good,  he  was  an  inspiration. 

Dr.  S.  E.  Earp:  Mr.  President — My  acquaintance  with 
Doctor  Wishard  dated  from  the  early  eighties,  and  what  has 
been  said  tonight  I  heartily  endorse.  Much  of  it  I  know  to 
be  true.  I  know  we  were  acquainted,  many  of  us,  with  his 
loving  kindness.  We  knew  of  his  uprightness,  and  that  he 
was  a  man  of  sturdy  character,  and  that  he  was  noted  for  ab- 
solute honesty  of  purpose.     He  represented,  as  I  believe,  the 


William  Henry  Wishard  155 

type  of  the  old  family  physician,  and  very  frequently  I  have 
thought  that  if  I  wanted  a  picture  that  would  represent  the 
type  of  the  family  physician,  as  we  hear  him  described  long 
ago,  the  man  who  attended  to  all  of  the  ills  of  human  kind,  in 
surger}^  and  obstetrics  and  medicine,  the  man  that  was  beloved 
by  every  member  of  every  household  that  he  entered,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  Doctor  Wishard  was  an  absolute  perfect 
representation  of  that  type. 

I  also  know  that  he  was  just  the  opposite  of  the  therapeutic 
nihilist,  of  which  there  are  so  many  running  at  large  today. 
Doctor  Wishard  believed  that  medicine  would  cure  individuals 
who  were  sick.  He  had  confidence  in  remedies,  and  he  had 
confidence  because  he  had  tried  those  remedies  and  knew  that 
they  would  accomplish  certain  results,  because  he  had  seen  it 
done,  and  it  was  his  own  experience.  Many  times  have  I 
heard  him  relate  his  experience,  particularly  with  the  vegeta- 
ble preparations  that  he  was  so  well  versed  in,  and  such  as 
that,  and  it  was  a  great  enjoyment  to  me. 

Another  thing  that  I  have  particularly  noticed  is  that  in  life 
we  are  prone  to  find  many  pessimists.  For  instance,  today  was 
a  beautiful  December  day,  but  if  one  should  remark  that  today 
was  a  beautiful  December  day  there  is  nearly  always  sure 
to  be  some  one  about  to  throw  ice  water  on  it  and  say,  "Yes, 
but  just  wait;  next  January  it  will  be  awful  cold."  And  so 
when  we  offer  praise  about  one  of  our  fellow  men,  some  one 
within  the  sound  of  our  voices  offers  apologies  and  notes  some 
little  thing  that  is  particularly  unpleasant  relative  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  individual.  I  do  not  recall  any  one  who  has  been 
discussed,  whose  name  has  been  discussed  so  frequently  as 
Doctor  Wishard's,  that  when  praise  was  given  in  reference 
to  him  and  what  he  had  done,  and  the  various  portions  of  his 
life  that  we  praise  so  highly,  I  have  never  known  any  one  to 
offer  an  apology,  and  I  have  never  known  any  one  to  rebut  it ; 


156  William  Henry  Wishaed 

but,  on  the  contrary,  it  seemed  that  there  was  always  some  one 
that  wanted  to  add  his  testimony  in  his  favor.  To  me  that 
seems  wonderful. 

Much  that  is  sentimental  has  been  said  showing  the  love 
that  many  of  those  present  have  had  for  Doctor  Wishard.  I 
have  esteemed  him  as  a  man.  I  feel  that  the  world  is  better 
because  such  a  man  lived  in  it.  I  believe  that  we  are  all  better 
because  of  his  existence.  I  think  that  such  men  are  living 
monuments,  not  only  aiding  those  in  the  age  in  which  they  live 
but  they  form  a  mold  in  the  hearts  of  these  younger  genera- 
tions, and  that  futurity  will  be  benefited  by  their  lives. 

Dr.  a.  C.  Kimberlin  :  Mr.  President — One  of  my  great- 
est pleasures  in  life,  as  well  as  benefits,  came  from  the  p^'ivi- 
lege  of  many  years  friendship  and  association  with  Doctor 
Wishard.  I  have  wished  many  times  that  every  young  man 
beginning  an  active  career,  especially  in  medicine,  could  have 
the  association,  influence  and  splendid  example  of  a  man  with 
the  character  and  constancy  of  Doctor  Wishard. 

Some  of  my  greatest  incentives  to  an  open,  frank  and 
straightforward  living  came  from  him,  and  the  example  of  his 
unselfishness  and  goodness  that  impressed  me  most  was  his 
treatment  of  me  immediately  after  graduating  in  medicine. 
He  knew  my  anxiety,  that  which  haunts  most  young  physi- 
cians, to  choose  the  best  and  most  advantageous  location  and 
environment.  He  called  me  into  his  office  one  day  and  made 
me  a  proposition,  which  meant  a  guarantee  of  more  than 
enough  for  my  living  to  begin  with,  and  with  any  addition  I 
might  choose  to  add  by  increased  work,  making  that  part  op- 
tional with  me.  After  stating  all  these  facts  I  was  touched  and 
forced  into  an  everlasting  admiration  and  respect  by  his  state- 
ment, so  kindly  made,  that  it  was  what  he  would  be  glad  to  do, 
and  while  he  wanted  me  to  feel  this  offer  was  open  to  me  at 
any  time,  if  I  found  something  that  was  better  to  feel  perfectly 


William  Henry  Wishard  157 

free  to  accept  it,  that  he  would  be  happy  himself  to  see  me 
take  it.  His  proposition  was  a  comfort  to  me  then,  as  well  as 
ever  since,  and  gave  me  greater  confidence  not  only  in  the 
medical  profession  but  in  mankind. 

Another  occasion  which  impressed  me  very  much  with  the 
bigness  of  his  character  was  one  day  when  riding  with  him 
in  a  buggy  to  make  a  country  call,  while  I  was  yet  an  under- 
graduate. We  drove  up  behind  a  man  in  a  closed  buggy  and 
were  anxious  to  drive  around  him ;  we  tried  two  or  three  times 
to  drive  past,  but  each  time,  evidently  without  intent,  he  would 
swing  to  our  side  of  the  road,  and  it  goes  without  saying  that 
as  a  youth  I  was  pretty  much  exasperated,  though  I  said  noth- 
ing. When  we  tried  again  and  the  same  thing  occurred,  Doc- 
tor Wishard  only  laughed  heartily  and  said,  "It  beats  the 
world  how  people  (referring  to  the  driver)  are  of  the  same 
notion  at  the  same  time."  While  wholly  unconscious  of  the 
part  he  played,  I  valued  that  as  a  keen  and  just  rebuke  to  im- 
patience. Nothing  more  was  said  on  the  subject,  but  it  was  an 
experience  that  I  never  forgot. 

One  could  not  be  long  in  Doctor  Wishard's  company  with- 
out seeing  many  such  examples  of  his  bigness  of  mind  and  the 
beautiful  Christian  spirit  which  not  only  characterized  his  life 
and  daily  work,  but  made  his  home  a  veritable  retreat  for  all 
who  knew  him,  especially  young  people,  whom  he  always  took 
unusual  pleasure  in  helping,  encouraging  and  directing,  not 
only  in  professional  but  social  and  Christian  ways  as  well.  A 
young  man  only  needs  the  acquaintance  and  association  of  a 
few  men  of  his  kind  and  character.  Almost  his  exact  proto- 
type was  his  lifelong  friend,  Mr.  George  Merritt,  now  de- 
ceased, and  he,  like  Doctor  Wishard,  was  long  in  the  front 
ranks  of  the  philanthropic  and  Christian  work  of  our  city. 

The  striking  evidence  of  his  unselfishness  and  untiring  devo- 
tion to  his  profession,  as  well  as  his  service  as  a  plain  citizen. 


158  William  Henry  Wishard 

was  the  fact  that  he  never  cared  to  accumulate,  and  rarely  dis- 
cussed the  financial  side  of  his  business.  To  him  it  was  of 
secondary  importance.  While  believing  in  providing  plenty, 
whether  of  bread  and  butter,  or  professional  skill,  he  was  al- 
ways ready  to  share  with  any  worthy  person  as  willingly  as 
with  his  own  family. 

It  was  a  great  hardship  for  him  to  give  up  active  practice. 
About  his  ninetieth  year  I  saw  him  making  a  professional  call 
when  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow,  on  a  poor  family 
living  on  North  Senate  avenue,  his  only  remark  being  that 
they  were  very  worthy  people  and  that  he  had  been  the  physi- 
cian in  the  family  for  many  years  and  that  this  was  the  fourth 
generation  he  was  attending.  He  seemed  still  to  be  enjoying 
the  services  he  was  rendering. 

During  the  last  two  or  three  years,  when  reduced  almost  to 
physical  helplessness,  and  what  would  be  to  an  ordinary  person 
hopelessness,  he  was  just  as  cheery  and  bright  as  in  his  most 
active  days.  One  could  only  interpret  this  as  a  reflection  of 
his  life's  work  and  assurance  of  the  future.  Each  of  his  days 
was  one  of  pleasure,  patiently  waiting  for  his  Master's  call. 

Dr.  Theodore  Potter  :  Mr.  President — I  learned  to  know 
my  good  friend  Doctor  Wishard  very  early  in  my  career  here. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  men  that  have  passed 
across  and  off  the  stage  of  Indiana  medicine.  He  was  interest- 
ing in  his  person.  Of  large,  strong  and  vigorous  brain,  of  a 
strong  and  forceful  countenance,  with  large  features,  he  had 
the  noble  leonine  expression  which  made  him  a  striking  man. 
He  was  a  variedly  interesting  man.  As  a  narrator  of  events,  I 
am  sure  that  every  one  whose  memory  reaches  back  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  and  who  knew  him  in  his  more  active  days, 
will  call  to  mind  more  than  one  of  those  interesting,  witty 
and  humorous  stories  that  he  told;  and  many  of  the  narra- 
tives that  he  related  were  not  only  interesting  but  were,  in  a 


William  Henry  Wishaed  159 

historical  sense,  very  instructive.  To  have  lived  almost  ninety- 
eight  years  is  a  remarkable  thing  for  any  man ;  but  still  more 
remarkable  is  a  man  who  has  lived  for  that  length  of  time  in 
one  small  section  of  countr>%  in  an  immediate  vicinity.  Such  a 
man  has  had  an  experience  that  falls  to  the  lot  of  but  few  in- 
deed ;  and  this,  too,  was  in  a  new  country  which  was  in  process 
of  wonderful  development;  and  many  of  the  stories  that  he 
told  and  many  of  the  narratives  that  he  related  were  not  only 
very  interesting,  but  they  were  exceedingly  instructive  by  rea- 
son of  their  historical  association. 

I  remember,  for  instance,  hearing  him  tell  of  his  first  use  of 
chloroform.  It  was  a  funny  story  and  very  instructive,  too, 
because  one  who  heard  it  could  not  but  think  of  the  historic 
significance  of  it,  and  what  the  introduction  of  that  great  an- 
aesthetic meant,  just  as  some  of  us  remember  what  occurred 
when  antisepsis  was  introduced,  and  when,  for  instance,  anti- 
toxin came  into  use,  and  we  were  all  afraid  of  it,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  afraid  of  it,  and  we  gave  those  little  doses  at  which 
we  now  simply  laugh. 

I  remember  of  Doctor  Wishard  telling  of  the  first  time  that 
he  saw  quinine  used.  When  he  was  a  boy  his  father  sent  him 
on  horseback  to  Indianapolis  to  see  Doctor  Sanders,  who  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  physicians  in  this  city,  telling  him  in  a  note 
that  he  had  a  boy  sick  with  the  ague  and  to  send  him  some 
medicine;  and  he,  boylike,  followed  Doctor  Sanders  into  the 
back  office  and  watched  him  put  up  the  medicine.  The  doctor 
took  a  four-ounce  bottle,  weighed  out  and  put  into  it  twenty 
grains  of  quinine  and  filled  the  bottle  with  some  vehicle  and 
put  some  sulphuric  acid  in  it  to  help  dissolve  it,  and  prepared 
the  label. 

If  I  remember  correctly,  quinine  was  alx)ut  the  first  one  of 
the  drugs  that  was  extracted  in  that  concentrated  form,  and 
people  were  afraid  of  it,  just  as  we  were  afraid  of  some  of 


160  William  Henry  Wishaed 

the  active  things  that  have  come  in  later  days.  Doctor 
Sanders  put  twenty  grains  of  quinine  in  this  four-ounce  bottle 
and  wrote  his  label  thus,  "A  teaspoonful  three  times  a  day; 
to  be  used  with  great  caution."  About  two-thirds  of  a  grain  of 
quinine  to  be  used  three  times  a  day  to  break  up  White  river 
bottom  ague,  and  to  be  used  with  great  caution !  As  he  went 
out  of  the  door  Doctor  Sanders  called  to  him  and  said,  "Now, 
sonny,  tell  your  father  to  put  this  medicine  where  no  one  will 
get  at  it,  for  it  is  a  very  dangerous  medicine."  Now  that  was 
a  funny  story,  but  it  was  of  very  great  historical  interest  to 
any  one  who  heard  it. 

So,  when  any  one  sat  down  with  him — he  was  not  a  street 
corner  philosopher — or  rode  with  him  in  the  railroad  train  and 
looked  out  through  the  window  upon  the  country  through 
which  w^e  were  passing,  and  which  he  had  seen  change  literally 
from  a  wilderness,  for  he  had  seen  the  whole  region  of  cen- 
tral Indiana  covered  practically  with  the  primeval  forests,  he 
was  full  of  stories  that  were  delightful  to  hear  and  instructed 
one  to  listen  to.  I  have  heard  him  tell  how  he  went  as  a  boy 
to  drive  the  cows  home  in  the  evening  and  threw  sticks  at  the 
deer  to  drive  them  out  of  the  cowpath,  when  they  were  really 
a  nuisance — he  had  seen  such  changes  in  the  country.  As  he 
looked  out  of  the  car  window  one  day  when  we  were  going 
to  the  State  Medical  Society  meeting  he  got  to  talking  about 
these  changes  in  a  way  that  was  not  only  interesting  but  ex- 
ceedingly instructive. 

He  was  a  very  interesting  man  in  his  history.  To  think  that 
one  had  lived  for  nearly  ninety-eight  years  in  this  great  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  and  had  lived  the  larger  part  of  it  within  prac- 
tically rifle  shot  of  this  city,  and  seen  this  town  grow  from  a 
hamlet  of  less  than  six  hundred  people,  with  nothing  but  mud 
streets  through  it,  to  a  great  cosmopolitan  city,  is  indeed  a 
wonderful  thing. 


"Tvi'K  OK  THE  Old  F.\M  ll.^   I'n^  sk  i  \\" 


William  Heney  Wishaed  161 

You  can  not  find  that  in  the  older  states.  You  go  east  of 
the  mountains  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  there  is  no  man  or 
woman  living  there,  any  more,  who  has  seen  anything  like  the 
pioneer  times.  They  have  seen  the  simpler  day,  of  course,  but 
not  the  real  pioneer  time ;  and  this  man  who  died  but  yesterday 
could  tell  us  of  the  days  when  this  country  was  a  wilderness, 
and  he  lived  until  it  grew  and  blossomed  like  the  rose.  Surely 
this  was  a  great  life,  well  lived.  A  good  man,  a  good  doctor 
and  a  good  citizen. 

Dr.  D.  F.  Lee:  Mr.  President — I  did  not  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  knowing  Doctor  Wishard  very  well,  but  I  began  my 
practice  down  in  Johnson  county,  where  he  practiced  in  his 
early  days,  and  I  have  heard  a  great  many  of  the  older  peo- 
ple relate  incidents  of  his  practice  and  tell  about  his  personal- 
ity. The  thing  that  impressed  me  all  the  way  through  the  life 
of  Doctor  Wishard  has  been  his  wonderful  and  striking  orig- 
inality. I  have  met  some  of  the  older  doctors  down  there  who 
used  to  meet  him  in  consultation,  and  they  used  to  tell  me  about 
his  originality,  and  his  way  of  making  deductions  and  arriving 
at  conclusions,  and  they  were  very  original.  As  we  very  often 
say,  some  one  is  ahead  of  the  times.  One  is  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  there  are  some  people  who  do  the  best  they  can ; 
some  people  who  make  the  best  of  their  opportunities;  and 
when  we  think  of  the  limited  education  of  Doctor  Wishard, 
and  hear  these  stories  as  the  doctors  have  told  them.  Doctor 
Woolen,  Doctor  Potter  and  others,  of  how  he  would  make  re- 
marks and  arrive  at  conclusions  about  things,  as  he  saw  them, 
the  originality  of  his  thoughts  and  the  correctness  of  his  con- 
clusions, we  ask  ourselves  what  this  powerful  man  could  have 
done  had  he  had  the  benefit  of  an  early  liberal  education. 

Another  thing  that  has  impressed  me  also  in  the  life  of 
Doctor  Wishard  is  the  stories  I  have  heard  as  to  the  sturdiness 
of  his  character,  and  his  extreme  ethical  treatment  of  his  med- 


162  William  Henry  Wishard 

ical  brethren;  and  from  these  things  I  think  that  the  younger 
men,  the  men  who  are  in  active  practice  today,  can  learn  a 
very  important  lesson.  I  have  recently  talked  with  some  of 
the  older  men  in  the  profession,  about  some  of  the  older  physi- 
cians like  Doctor  Wishard,  Doctor  Mears  and  Doctor  Bobbs, 
and  many  of  these  older  men  have  noted  a  great  difference  be- 
tween the  ethical  lives  of  those  men  and  the  men  who  are 
active  in  the  practice  today.  Not  that  they  meant  by  that  any 
reflection  upon  any  of  us  at  all,  but  there  was  something  about 
those  men  that  was  different  from  what  we  see  today.  I  am 
certain  that  I  have  been  benefited  by  association  with  some  of 
those  old  doctors  in  Johnson  county,  among  them  Doctor 
Thayer,  who  told  me  a  great  many  things,  and  seemed  to  take 
a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in  speaking  about  his  association  with 
Doctor  Wishard.  Many  of  the  things  that  he  told  me,  facts 
obtained  through  personal  observation  of  Doctor  Wishard, 
were  very  interesting.  Some  of  them  I  have  treasured  away, 
and  I  am  sure  that  I  have  received  much  benefit  from  them. 

Dr.  a.  L.  Wilson  :  Mr,  President — I  think  possibly  Doc- 
tor Woolen  is  the  only  person  in  the  house  who  was  ac- 
quainted with  Doctor  Wishard  before  I  was.  He  was  the  fam- 
ily physician  for  my  father's  family  when  I  was  a  small  boy, 
and  I  remember  very  distinctly  when  we  were  all  seriously 
sick  with  the  fever  and  Doctor  Wishard  attended  us.  We 
lived  just  a  few  miles  south  of  the  city  in  the  White  river  bot- 
tom, and  Doctor  Wishard  came  every  day  to  see  us;  he  not 
only  furnished  his  medicine  but  often  he  would  administer  it 
to  us.  There  was  scarcely  any  one  member  of  the  family  able 
to  wait  on  another.  I  remember  it  very  well,  although  I 
was  a  small  boy  at  the  time. 

He  took  a  great  interest  in  us,  and  I  remember  from  that 
day  until  the  present  that  he  was  always  my  friend ;  and  it  is 
a  pleasant  recollection  that  I  have  of  many  of  the  older  physi- 


William  Henry  Wishard  163 

cians,  the  kindnesses  they  have  shown  me  all  these  years,  but 
none  of  them  ever  showed  me  greater  kindness  than  Doctor 
Wishard.  He  has  honored  me  and  my  family  by  visiting  us 
in  our  home,  and  I  have  often  been  at  his  house,  and  we  have 
his  picture  framed  and  hanging  in  our  parlor  and  prize  it.  He 
never  called  at  our  house  that  we  did  not  feel  that  we  were 
better  for  that  call.  I  remember  very  well  the  esteem  with 
which  he  was  held  in  the  country  district.  We  often  heard 
people  speaking,  one  neighbor  with  another,  telling  that  a  cer- 
tain man  was  very  sick  and  they  were  afraid  he  would  die; 
that  the  doctor  had  given  him  up.  Then  the  question  would 
be  asked  by  some  one  who  knew  Doctor  Wishard  very  well, 
whose  language  was  not  as  delicate  as  possibly  it  might  be, 
"Has  old  Doctor  Wishard  seen  him?"  Meaning  that  they 
should  call  him.  That  was  the  estimate  in  which  he  was  held 
in  the  community. 

I  feel  that  I  have  lost  a  very  dear  friend.  I  wish  I  could 
express  myself  as  I  would  like  to,  but  I  can  not  let  the  occasion 
go  by  without  trying  to  say  something.  I  have  a  very  kind 
recollection  of  Doctor  Wishard. 

Dr.  Frederick  R.  Charlton  :  Mr.  President — There 
were  two  or  three  characteristics  belonging  to  Doctor  Wishard 
that  impressed  me  particularly.  One  was  his  strength.  He 
always  impressed  me  with  having  a  tremendous  reserve  power. 
It  was  manifest  in  his  every  attitude  toward  life.  I  do  not 
believe  that  a  more  sincere  Christian  ever  lived  than  Doctor 
Wishard,  and  yet  he  took  his  Christianity  in  the  same  way 
that  he  met  every  other  obligation  in  life.  It  was  not  an  air 
that  he  put  on  for  effect ;  it  was  not  an  attitude.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve any  one  can  remember  anything  that  Doctor  Wishard 
ever  said  or  did  that  would  give  you  the  impression  that  he  was 
announcing  himself  as  a  man  of  great  piety.  He  just  lived  it 
and  thought  it  and  believed  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  made 


164  William  Henry  Wishard 

no  more  pretense  of  it,  no  more  affectation  of  it  than  of  any  of 
the  ordinary  everyday  affairs  of  Hfe. 

His  fund  of  humor  was  wonderful.  He  liked  a  joke  and  he 
liked  to  be  joked  with.  I  took  liberties  with  him  that  I  would 
never  have  taken  with  many  old  men.  Illustrating  his  strength 
and  his  courage,  I  met  him  on  the  street  once,  perhaps  eight  or 
ten  years  ago,  and  I  told  him  that  I  had  just  recently  met  one 
of  his  old  friends,  and  that  his  old  friend  had  given  him  a 
very  bad  name;  said  that  he  had  been  a  great  fighting  man 
when  he  was  a  young  man — all  of  which  I  fabricated.  Im- 
mediately Doctor  Wishard  was  on  the  defensive.  He  said  that 
he  had  always  been  a  man  of  peace;  he  had  never  been  a 
brawler;  that  he  had  lived  in  a  time  when  men  were  given  to 
fisticuffs,  and  in  a  time  when  men  had  to  stand  on  their  own 
resources  and  defend  their  own  views;  and  then  all  uncon- 
sciously he  told  me  of  three  or  four  fights  that  he  had  been  in 
as  a  younger  man,  all  of  them  warranted,  all  of  them  fair 
and  wholesome;  and  one  I  recall  was  that  he  had  been  on 
one  of  the  Southern  river  steamboats — I  think  perhaps  it  was 
during  his  war  experiences,  at  a  time  when  those  boats  were  in- 
fested by  professional  gamblers — that  he  had  seen  a  young  boy 
seated  at  a  card  table,  and  with  money,  I  believe,  that  he  was 
holding  in  trust.  My  impression  of  the  story  is  that  he  was  a 
purchasing  agent,  going  somewhere  with  money  entrusted  to 
him,  and  some  way  or  other  he  lost  all  that  money  to  these  pro- 
fessional gamblers,  and  Doctor  Wishard,  who  witnessed  the 
scene,  detected  the  trickery  of  it,  and  protested.  Immediately 
the  gamblers  turned  upon  him,  one  of  them  with  the  old  con- 
ventional bowie  knife.  Doctor  Wishard  knocked  him  down 
and  pretty  nearly  killed  him  with  a  stool,  and  made  him  give 
up  the  money,  which  was  turned  back  to  the  boy. 

I  think  that  he  was  as  little  given  to  pretense  as  any  man  I 


William  Henry  Wishaed  165 

ever  knew.    His  whole  life  was  open  and  aboveboard  and  free 
from  it.    I  had  a  very  deep  personal  affection  for  him. 

Dr.  Frank  E.  Wynn  :  Mr.  President — The  death  of 
Doctor  Wishard  carries  me  back  to  my  first  acquaintance  in 
this  city.  I  recall  very  vividly  my  first  meeting  with  him.  He 
exemplified,  as  has  been  stated  by  others,  an  intense  desire  to 
help  young  men,  and  was  always  interested  in  talking  to  them, 
and  learning  particularly  from  younger  professional  men  the 
progress  that  had  been  made.  My  meeting  with  him  occurred 
in  an  office  which  he  and  Doctor  Noble  had  on  Market  street 
near  the  Circle,  and  I  recall  the  impression  made  upon  me  at 
the  time.  He  knew  that  I  was  at  that  time  considerably  inter- 
ested, as  I  am  still,  for  that  matter,  in  the  subject  of  pathology 
and  diagnosis,  and  a  very  unusual  case  came  under  his  obser- 
vation of  an  old  friend  he  had  known  all  his  life  who  had  a 
very  remarkable  tumor.  He  talked  to  me  and  to  Doctor  Noble 
about  it.  He  finally  arranged  that  we  should  go  with  him  to 
see  this  man.  He  was  a  poor  fellow,  away  down  in  the  south- 
west part  of  town  on  West  street.  We  went  into  the  house 
and  he  called  the  man  by  his  first  name,  spoke  to  him  famil- 
iarly, evidently  having  known  him  many  years.  We  found 
there  a  very  extraordinary  condition ;  the  man  propped  up  on 
pillows  with  an  abdomen  that  was  almost  the  size  of  a  wash- 
tub.  Having  previously  told  us  about  the  case,  Doctor  Wish- 
ard said :  "I  was  firmly  convinced  that  this  man's  abdomen 
was  filled  with  fluid,  and,  so  impressed,  I  took  a  trocar  and 
plunged  it  through  the  abdominal  wall,  expecting  fully  to  get 
fluid,  but,"  he  added,  "that  is  the  first  time  that  I  ever  bored  for 
water  and  didn't  get  it."  That  was  his  homely  way  of  saying 
things  that  were  striking.  That  case  was  indeed  a  very  re- 
markable one.  It  was  not  fluid  at  all,  but  an  immense  fatty 
tumor,  which,  I  think,  is  still  in  the  museum  of  this  college. 


166  William  Henry  Wishard 

which  weighed  sixty-odd  pounds.  Palpation  gave  the  impres- 
sion of  fluid  and  it  was  also  indicated  on  percussion.  The  man 
died  of  suffocation.  Afterward  Doctor  Wishard  asked  me  to 
make  an  autopsy.  I  recollect  with  what  interest  he  stood  by 
and  watched  that  performance. 

A  few  months  after  that  he  exhibited  to  me  his  interest  in 
scientific  progress  by  bringing  and  presenting  to  me  the  two- 
volume  work  of  Rokitansky,  the  first  edition  of  the  work  of 
that  remarkable  pathologist  in  Vienna.  He  brought  it  to  me 
and  said,  "I  want  to  give  you  this  because  I  think  it  is  mighty 
good  reading."  He  said,  "I  used  to  treasure  it,  and  I  think 
you  will  prize  it  more  now  than  I  will,  and  so  I  want  to  give 
it  to  you ;"  and  ever  since  I  have  treasured  those  books. 

This  life  among  us  has  been  fruitful  of  many  lessons  that 
have  been  brought  before  us  in  the  remarks  offered  this  even- 
ing. A  question  which  we  might  pertinently  ask  is,  how  does 
it  come  that  he  attained  to  such  a  splendid  old  age?  The  an- 
swer, I  think,  comes  in  the  fact,  or  facts,  in  the  first  place,  that 
he  was  temperate  in  all  things.  He  was  not  a  man  who  drank ; 
he  was  not  a  man  who  was  a  gormandizer;  but  he  was  a  man 
who  was  temperate  in  his  habits  of  body,  in  his  speech,  in  his 
whole  life;  and  so  I  think  one  of  the  greatest  causes  of  his 
longevity  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  in  his  life  he  exempli- 
fied temperance. 

Then,  as  stated  by  some  one  else,  I  think  another  factor  con- 
ducive to  his  longevity  was  to  be  found  in  his  benignant  op- 
timism. All  have  spoken  about  his  humor,  but  never  do  I  re- 
member to  have  been  in  his  presence  for  any  considerable 
period  of  time  that  he  did  not  say  something  that  had  in  it  the 
ring  of  optimism,  of  cheer,  of  hope,  of  encouragement;  and  he 
carried  with  him  that  idea.  He  carried  it  into  the  sickroom, 
and  it  was  that  characteristic,  as  I  think,  which  made  him  be- 


William  Henry  Wishard  167 

loved  of  laymen  who  knew  him  as  physician,  and  made  him 
beloved  by  us  who  knew  him  as  a  fellow  physician.  So  that  it 
seems  to  me  his  longevity  is  to  be  attributed,  first,  to  his  tem- 
perance, and  then,  secondly,  to  his  benignant  optimism. 

I  believe  that  one  of  the  things  that  as  physicians  we  should 
cherish  as  long  as  anything  that  we  will  remember  about  him 
is  his  character  of  parent,  of  his  family  life,  of  his  relationship 
to  his  wife  and  his  sons  and  his  daughters.  I  shall  remember 
him  perhaps  longer  in  that  connection  than  in  any  other,  and, 
much  as  I  admire  the  family  which  he  has  reared,  and  notably 
the  doctor,  there  is  in  that  son  nothing  I  have  admired  more 
than  his  beautiful  devotion  to  his  father ;  and  on  the  other  hand 
the  devotion  of  the  father  to  the  son,  a  reciprocal  feeling;  a 
beautiful  family  relationship  that  to  me  has  been  a  lesson  that 
I  will  cherish  longer  than  any  other  phase  of  his  life.  Do  we 
not  all  remember  it?  Has  it  not  occurred  year  after  year?  I 
recall  the  last  time  that  I  think  Doctor  Wishard  ever  appeared 
before  this  society.  I  recall  him  coming  in  on  his  birthday. 
It  chanced  to  be  on  our  meeting  night.  He  came  down  these 
steps,  only  two  or  three  years  ago,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  his 
admiring  and  dutiful  son.  Was  it  not  a  beautiful  picture?  Is 
it  not  fine  to  remember  in  that  way  the  father  and  the  son  ? 

This  man  had  not  the  advantages  of  us  who  are  younger, 
of  the  laboratory,  or  the  advantages  in  pathology,  of  modem 
diagnosis,  of  all  the  wonderful  progress  made  in  medicine; 
and  yet  he  had  the  cardinal  virtues  of  a  true  physician.  He 
had  the  character;  he  had  the  mental  ability;  he  had  the  cour- 
age. He  was,  in  the  first  place,  an  effulgent  character.  There 
was  radiating  from  him  in  every  direction  and  at  all  times  a 
good  influence,  optimism,  good  cheer,  that  helped  people  to  be 
better.  He  was  a  centrifugal  character,  sending  out  from 
himself  dynamic  force;  force  of  character  that  told  upon  peo- 


168  William  Henry  Wishard 

pie.  He  stood  always  for  the  right,  and  so  he  has  lived 
among  us  as  an  ideal  physician,  a  man  going  about  doing 
good,  healing  the  sick.     Let  us  emulate  his  example. 

Dr.  a.  W.  Brayton  :  Mr.  President — It  has  been  a  great 
pleasure  to  be  here  and  listen  to  what  has  been  said  this  even- 
ing, particularly  from  the  younger  men.  I  have  enjoyed  it 
very  greatly.  Doctor  Potter  has  shown,  as  many  of  us  might, 
had  we  felt  disposed  to  talk  along  those  lines,  that  Doctor 
Wishard  retained  the  kindly  humor  that  characterized  his  life 
and  thought  and  burst  out  in  such  extraordinary,  helpful  and 
instructive  ways.  I  was  particularly  touched  with  what  Doc- 
tor Wynn  said  about  the  marked  fealty  that  existed  between 
him  and  his  son,  Dr.  William  N.  Wishard.  Indeed  I  first 
saw  Doctor  Wishard,  the  elder,  when  I  went  with  Doctor 
Eastman's  father  and  Doctor  Featherstone  to  call  on  Dr.  W. 
N.  Wishard,  who  had  been  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
city  hospital.  We  were  starting  the  struggling  school,  one  that 
was  needed,  and  that  we  were  all  much  interested  in,  and 
wanted  to  get  in  proper  relationship  with  the  city  hospital; 
and  we  saw  not  only  Dr.  W.  N.  Wishard,  but  we  saw  his  fa- 
ther. That  was  the  beginning  of  my  acquaintance  with  those 
members  of  the  family.  I  have  written,  as  Doctor  Heath  has 
indicated,  a  history  of  Doctor  Wishard  which  stood  for  twenty 
years  ago.  There  certainly  ought  to  be  an  additional  chapter 
written  to  show  how  beautifully  his  life  has  continued  to 
fructify  and  bring  forth  those  things  which  make  us  glad  that 
he  lived  and  that  he  was  so  long  among  us.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  one  who  had  such  a  right  to  meet  and  enjoy  death ;  and 
we  do  not  any  of  us  feel — except  the  tinge  of  emotion  perhaps 
that  may  come  as  we  get  along  toward  the  elder  period  our- 
selves— that  there  was  anything  unfitting  in  his  death.  It  was 
just  as  natural  and  proper  that  this  man  should  die  as  that  he 
should  be  bom.     He  believed  in  the  beneficence  of  the  uni- 


William  Henry  Wishard  169 

verse,  that  on  the  whole,  while  there  is  a  time  of  change,  that 
this  planet  on  which  we  are,  that  these  beings  that  we  are,  and 
these  thoughts  that  we  think,  are  no  more  than  a  speck  or  mote 
in  the  greatness  of  time  and  of  the  universe;  he  saw  his  part 
and  place  in  it. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  human  life.  We  are  no  different 
from  the  men  of  Homer  in  the  early  times.  There  have  been 
giants  of  intellect,  giants  of  morality,  men  who  did  justice  and 
who  loved  mercy,  and  walked  humbly  with  their  fellows,  from 
the  earliest  times  that  we  know  anything  about;  and  Doctor 
Wishard  stands  among  these  great  ones  of  the  earth.  He  was 
not  great  in  the  way  that  the  names  that  we  know  are  great 
because  of  the  quantity,  the  numbers  that  they  influenced  and 
so  on,  but  just  as  far  as  he  could  reach,  just  as  far  as  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  times  called  for.  Why  was  Lincoln  great? 
Why  was  Grant  great?  There  came  a  time  when  such  men 
were  needed  and  they  were  there ;  and  in  his  relationships  to 
life  Doctor  Wishard  was  just  as  great  as  they  were. 

I  am  glad  to  look  at  his  noble  face  there,  and  glad  that 
some  one  thought  of  bringing  his  portrait  down  here.  I  joy  in 
his  passage. 

Dr.  Albert  E.  Sterne:  Mr.  President — Before  we  close 
the  meeting,  in  accordance  with  our  custom,  it  will  be  proper 
to  spread  upon  our  minutes  and  send  to  the  members  of  the 
family  of  Doctor  Wishard  a  memorial  of  our  regard  in  the 
form  of  resolutions.  In  this  instance  it  is  really  not  necessary 
because  we  have  shown  our  esteem  and  regard  for  Doctor 
Wishard  in  the  scroll  we  presented  to  him,  and  in  other  ways ; 
but,  as  a  matter  of  form,  it  would  \)e  appropriate  to  carry  out 
the  custon  of  years. 

While  I  am  on  my  feet,  Mr.  President,  I  want  to  add  my 
small  tribute  of  esteem  and  veneration  for  the  aged  doctor. 
I  recall,  as  one  of  the  very  pleasant  instances  of  my  personal 


170  William  Henry  Wishard 

touch  with  Doctor  Wishard,  that  he,  in  his  older  years,  accom- 
panied by  his  most  faithful  daughter,  came  to  call  upon  me 
one  afternoon  some  seven  years  ago,  when  he  was  practically 
in  his  ninetieth  year.  He  remarked  to  me,  "Well,  Doctor, 
you  are  a  young  man,  but  I  have  wanted  for  a  long  time  to 
come  out  with  my  daughter  and  spend  a  while  with  you  under 
the  shade  of  these  trees,  for  one  of  my  old  friends  used  to 
live  out  here,  and  I  have  availed  myself  of  this  fine  day  to 
come."  I  certainly  enjoyed  the  afternoon,  and  had  a  most 
enjoyable  time.  The  kindliness  and  the  humor  of  the  old  gen- 
tleman were  at  their  very  best.  It  is  a  delightful  little  pic- 
ture that  I  carry  now  of  that  afternoon  beneath  the  shade  of 
the  old  Norways  at  my  place.  Doctor  Dodds  and  Doctor 
Wynn  particularly  voiced  something  that  I  would  have  wished 
to  say,  and  can  only  repeat.  Many  men  are  noted  for  their 
deeds;  many  men  for  what  they  left  behind  them.  There  is 
undoubtedly  a  long  trail  of  beautiful  smaller  things  and  big- 
ger things  that  Doctor  Wishard  has  bequeathed  to  those  who 
knew  him.  I  have  no  doubt  of  that.  My  acquaintance  with 
the  Doctor  was  in  his  older  years  altogether,  but  no  man  could 
be  but  great  in  his  own  personal  way  who  could  leave  behind 
him  such  a  group  of  men  and  women  as  Doctor  Wishard's 
children.  Of  course  we  all  know  his  son,  the  doctor,  better — 
best,  in  fact,  of  all — but  there  are  members  of  that  family  who 
are  equally  devoted,  and  the  moment  should  not  be  allowed 
to  pass  without  mention  of  the  marvelous  devotion  of  his 
daughters,  particularly  Miss  Wishard  who  has  devoted  her- 
self willingly  and  gladly  to  her  parents  and  in  later  years  al- 
together to  her  father.  I  say  it  with  veneration  in  my  heart 
and  in  my  soul,  the  beauty  of  the  relationship  of  Dr.  William 
N.  Wishard  to  his  father  is  something  that  is  rare  indeed. 
It  is  a  wonderful  thing  in  these  days  when  an  old  man  grows 
old  knowing  that  with  his  advancing  years  he  is  no  burden 


William  Henry  Wishard  171 

to  those  whom  he  loves  and  who  love  him.  It  is  a  thing  that  is 
seen  altogether  too  seldom.  The  younger  regard  the  older, 
very  frequently,  as  a  bit  too  useless,  a  bit  too  much  in  the  way ; 
and  when  we  see  an  instance  of  this  kind,  Mr.  President  and 
gentlemen,  where  each  advancing  year  the  father  and  the 
mother  became  more  and  more  sacred,  more  and  more  loved, 
if  possible,  as  it  has  been  in  this  family,  we  can  not  but  feel  the 
uplift  that  such  relationship  brings. 

The  President  :  I  will  appoint  on  the  committee  on  reso- 
lutions. Dr.  G.  V.  Woolen,  Dr.  Albert  E.  Sterne  and  Dr. 
William  T.  S.  Dodds. 

RESOLUTIONS 
Adopted  by  Indianapolis  Medical  Society 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Indianapolis  Med- 
ical Society — Once  more  we  are  called  upon  to  pay  tribute 
to  a  departed  brother.  In  this  instance  it  is  more  fitting  to 
praise  than  to  lament.  He,  in  his  ripe  old  age,  had  no  need 
for  our  lamentation.  This  time  our  departed  brother  is  Dr. 
William  H.  Wishard,  a  patriot  in  medicine — a  patriot  in  Indi- 
ana. 

He  developed  with  the  vastness  of  a  great  frontier  state 
and  was  a  distinct  part  of  its  development.  He  was  an  in- 
tegral force  in  the  medical,  social,  religious  and  political  life 
of  the  state.  He  stood  for  natural  growth  and  grew  along 
with  the  development  of  a  pioneer  state  to  that  of  a  civilized 
flower.  He  stood  for  social  purity.  Christian  benevolence  and 
everlasting  truth. 

His  life  reminded  us  of  the  great  towering  dignified  trees 
of  Indiana — the  symbol  of  sturdiness  and  power.  He  was  one 
of  the  fathers  of  Indiana  medicine  and  this  was  his  work.  He 
belonged  to  the  "old  school  of  family  doctors"  which  has 
passed  away  with  these  grand  old  patriots  in  medicine.  He 
believed  in  the  curative  power  of  medicine  and  was  a  strong 
advocate  that  somewhere  nature  had  deposited  a  cure  for  all 
ills. 


172  William  Henry  Wishaed 

His  knowledge  of  medicine  and  his  educational  attainments 
were  largely  obtained  from  the  university  of  nature.  His 
books  were  the  trees,  rivers,  flowers,  people  and  associates. 
So  great  were  his  attainments  that  he  was  honored  by  this 
society  as  its  president  and  has  had  during  his  professional 
life  numerous  obligations  and  honors  conferred  upon  him 
which  he  has  used  with  dignity.  He  lived  a  full  life  in  acts 
and  deeds  as  well  as  in  years. 

Therefore,  Let  us  resolve  that  we  have  lost  a  good  friend; 
a  wise  counselor  in  medicine;  a  patriotic  citizen  of  the  state 
and  community,  and  a  dignified  Christian  gentleman  to  emu- 
late in  the  death  of  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard. 

Signed  G.  V.  Woolen, 

A.  E.  Sterne, 
Wm.  T.  S.  Dodds, 

Committee. 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

Sunday  Afternoon^  December  14,  ipi^ 
Seventh  Presbyterian  Church 

HYMN 

He  leadeth  me :   O  blessed  thought ! 

O  words  with  heav'nly  comfort  fraught ! 

Whate'er  I  do,  where'er  I  be, 

Still  'tis  God's  hand  that  leadeth  me. 

Sometimes  'mid  scenes  of  deepest  gloom, 
Sometimes  where  Eden's  bowers  bloom, 
By  waters  calm,  o'er  troubled  sea, 
Still  'tis  His  hand  that  leadeth  me. 

Lord,  I  would  clasp  Thy  hand  in  mine. 
Nor  ever  murmur  nor  repine ; 
Content,  whatever  lot  I  see. 
Since  'tis  my  God  that  leadeth  me. 

And  when  my  task  on  earth  is  done. 
When,  by  Thy  grace,  the  victory's  won, 
E'en  death's  cold  wave  I  will  not  flee. 
Since  God  thro'  Jordan  leadeth  me. 

Refrain 

He  leadeth  me,  He  leadeth  me : 
By  His  own  hand  He  leadeth  me: 
His  faithful  follower  I  would  be. 
For  by  His  hand  He  leadeth  me. 

The  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver:  May  I  read  to  you  a  few 
verses,  among  the  last  which  it  was  my  privilege  to  read  to  the 
one  whose  memory  we  seek  to  honor  this  afternoon,  verses 
which  bring  out  the  privilege  and  dignity  of  discipleship  which 
I  am  sure  we  feel  was  his  sentiment  and  sanction,  as  found  in 
Ephesians,  one,  verses  three  to  fourteen,  inclusive : 

173 


174  William  Henry  Wishaed 

Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly- 
places  in  Christ : 

According  as  he  hath  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame 
before  him  in  love: 

Having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of  children  by 
Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
will, 

To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  wherein  he  hath 
made  us  accepted  in  the  beloved. 

In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace; 

Wherein  he  hath  abounded  toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and 
prudence ; 

Having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  ac- 
cording to  his  good  pleasure  which  he  hath  purposed  in  him- 
self: 

That  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times  he  might 
gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in 
heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth ;  even  in  him : 

In  whom  also  we  have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  pre- 
destinated according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will: 

That  we  should  be  to  the  praise  of  his  glory,  who  first 
trusted  in  Christ. 

In  whom  ye  also  trusted,  after  that  he  heard  the  word  of 
truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation:  in  whom  also  after  that 
ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  that  holy  Spirit  of  promise. 

Which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance  until  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  purchased  possession,  unto  the  praise  of  his  glory. 

SOLO 

MISS   NELLE  BUCHANAN 

Sunset  and  evening  star, 

And  one  dear  call  for  me ! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar 

When  I  put  out  to  sea. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  175 

But  such  a  tide  as,  moving,  seems  asleep, 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam, 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 

Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell 

When  I  embark; 

For  tho'  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  crost  the  bar. 

The  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver:  Seventy  years  of  actual 
Christian  life  is  a  very  unusual  privilege  for  any  man.  Three 
score  and  ten  is  sometimes  the  full  allotment  of  life,  the  aver- 
age goal  of  life,  but  the  subject  of  our  meditation  this  after- 
noon is  one  who  has  been  blest  with  almost  five  score — more 
than  three  score  and  ten,  more  than  four  score,  almost  five; 
and  seventy  years  of  that  time  active  in  Christian  thought  and 
service;  surely  a  great  privilege. 

Doctor  Wishard  united  with  the  church  about  seventy  years 
ago ;  he  united  first  with  the  church  at  Greenwood ;  from 
Greenwood  he  was  transferred  to  the  country  church,  Mt. 
Pleasant,  and  then  to  Southport,  and  from  Southport  about 
thirty-six  years  ago  he  came  into  this  congregation,  where  he 
has  since  been  recognized  as  an  active  member  of  our  session. 
While  many  of  us  active  in  the  church  today  have  not  known 
him  in  the  best  years  of  his  life,  yet  we  can  see  the  influences 
of  such  a  life.  We  can  feel  the  fragrance  of  the  character 
which  was  here,  which  we  are  sure  has  lifted  the  dignity  and 
has  given  inspiration  to  this  particular  church. 

For  that  purpose  we  desire,  as  officers,  to  express  in  this 
resolution  which  we  shall  place  in  the  hands  of  the  family,  our 
memory  of  the  senior  elder  of  this  church: 


176  William  Henry  Wishard 


RESOLUTIONS 

In  view  of  the  services  of  our  brother  and  senior  elder, 
WilHam  H.  Wishard,  M.  D.,  we,  the  undersigned,  members 
of  the  session  of  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  church,  hereby  ex- 
press our  sympathy  in  this  hour  of  separation,  and  our  grati- 
tude for  the  long  life  so  full  of  earnest  sympathetic  co-oper- 
ation in  this  branch  of  the  Master's  field.  His  thirty-six  years 
of  active  service  in  this  church  have  been  manifest  in  the 
broader  policy  and  deeper  spirituality  of  this  organization. 
His  sane  counsel  and  Christian  enthusiasm  have  brought  both 
stability  and  growth.  While  we  mourn  his  departure  we  shall 
endeavor  to  emulate  his  example  and  sustain  the  organization 
upon  the  high  plane  which  his  effort  has  assisted  us  to  attain. 
We  feel  that  not  only  our  church,  but  this  entire  section  of  the 
city,  is  better  because  of  his  presence. 

Signed  by  the  members  of  the  session, 

I  wish  also  to  read  this  letter  which  came  to  the  family 
from  a  representative  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Associa- 
tion, Dr.  G.  W.  H.  Kemper,  of  Muncie,  written  to  Dr,  Wil- 
liam N.  Wishard : 

Dear  Doctor  and  Friends — I  understand  that  on  to- 
morrow afternoon  memorial  services  will  be  held  to  the  mem- 
ory of  your  father.  I  may  not  be  with  you  in  person,  but  may 
I  say  a  few  words. 

I  first  met  Doctor  Wishard  on  the  battle-field  of  Shiloh 
about  the  4th  day  of  May,  1862.  He  came  with  a  number  of 
other  physicians  at  the  request  of  Governor  Morton.  In  fact, 
Governor  Morton  himself  was  there.  He  came  in  the  interest 
and  welfare  of  the  boys  in  blue  from  Indiana,  and  so  for  more 
than  a  half  century  we  have  been  friends  and  companions.  He 
has  been  a  guest  in  my  home  and  during  all  these  years  I  have 
loved  and  esteemed  him.  When  the  Rev.  John  Watson 
wanted  to  write  a  beautiful  story  he  took  for  his  theme  "A  Doc- 
tor of  the  Old  School,"  and  gave  us  the  lovely  character  of  Dr. 


William  Henry  Wishard  177 

William  McClure,  a  general  practitioner.  This  Scotch  physi- 
cian has  always  reminded  me  of  your  father.  Doctor  Watson 
says,  in  his  preface,  "One  has  to  answer  the  question  that  has 
been  so  often  and  fairly  asked,  'Was  there  ever  any  doctor  so 
self  forgetful  and  so  utterly  Christian  as  William  McClure?' 
To  which  I  am  proud  to  reply,  on  my  conscience,  not  one  but 
many." 

The  life  and  character  of  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard  has  been 
an  inspiration  to  the  profession  in  Indiana.  In  the  past  as 
well  as  the  present,  nay,  though  dead,  he  will  continue  to 
speak.  Peace  to  his  ashes.  His  memory  is  linked  with  good- 
ness and  we  will  cherish  it. 

HYMN 

Sweet  hour  of  prayer!    Sweet  hour  of  prayer! 

That  calls  me  from  a  world  of  care, 

And  bids  me  at  my  Father's  throne 

Make  all  my  wants  and  wishes  known ; 

In  seasons  of  distress  and  grief, 

My  soul  has  often  found  relief 

And  oft  escaped  the  tempter's  snare, 

By  thy  return,  sweet  hour  of  prayer ! 

Sweet  hour  of  prayer!    Sweet  hour  of  prayer! 

Thy  wings  shall  my  petition  bear 

To  Him  whose  truth  and  faithfulness 

Engage  the  waiting  soul  to  bless ; 

And  since  He  bids  me  seek  His  face, 

Believe  His  word,  and  trust  His  grace, 

I'll  cast  on  Him  my  every  care 

And  wait  for  thee,  sweet  hour  of  prayer! 

Sweet  hour  of  prayer!    Sweet  hour  of  prayer! 

May  I  thy  consolation  share, 

Till,  from  Mount  Pisgah's  lofty  height, 

I  view  my  home  and  take  my  flight ; 

This  robe  of  flesh  I'll  drop  and  rise 

To  seize  the  everlasting  prize; 

And  shout,  while  passing  through  the  air, 

Farewell,  farewell,  sweet  hour  of  prayer! 


178  William  Henry  Wishard 

The  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver  :  We  want  to  think  of  Doc- 
tor Wishard  as  he  was  a  member  of  the  congregation,  and  as  a 
young  man  might  see  him.  For  that  reason  I  have  asked  one 
of  the  men  who  is  still  actively  associated  with  this  church, 
who  came  here  as  a  young  man,  and  who  would  be  impressed 
with  such  a  personage  as  Doctor  Wishard  in  the  relationship 
to  the  church  life  of  which  he  was  an  associate,  to  speak  of 
Doctor  Wishard  as  a  man.  We  shall  have  a  few  words  from 
Mr.  H.  H.  Bishop. 

Mr.  H.  H,  Bishop  :  Occasions  like  this  are  rather  trying 
in  some  ways,  but  they  make  us  think  more  of  the  home  in  the 
promised  land  that  Christ  promised  us,  that  He  went  to  pre- 
pare for  us;  and  we  have  more  thought  for  it.  If  we  have  no 
sorrow  we  would  have  no  joy. 

Mr.  Shaver  spoke  about  my  knowing  Doctor  Wishard  when 
I  was  a  young  man.  I  came  here  over  twenty  years  ago,  when 
Doctor  Wishard  was  over  seventy,  and  he  was  spoken  of  then 
as  an  old  gentleman.  I  do  not  believe  anybody  then  dreamed 
of  his  living  to  be  almost  a  hundred  years  old.  My  first  im- 
pression of  him  was  of  his  intense  earnestness  in  things  spir- 
itual. I  think  that  expresses  it  better  than  in  any  other  way 
I  could  speak  of  it — his  intense  earnestness  in  all  things  spir- 
itual. I  do  not  believe  I  ever  knew  a  man  that  talked  on  spir- 
itual things  who  seemed  more  full  of  his  subject  and  more 
earnest  in  trying  to  impress  one  with  the  necessity  of  living 
a  Christian  life.  That  was  one  impression  that  Doctor  Wish- 
ard gave  me,  of  a  man  whose  whole  soul  was  in  his  spiritual 
life;  and  when  he  would  talk  it  would  seem  as  though  he  could 
not  speak  strong  enough  to  make  one  fully  realize  what  he 
meant.  He  had  seen  so  much  of  the  world,  and  so  many 
things  that  would  make  him  wish  for  everybody  to  be  better.  I 
believe  that  a  doctor  has  more  opportunities  of  seeing  the  re- 
sults of  the  sin  of  the  world  than  any  other  man,  and  I  think 


William  Henry  Wishard  179 

that  Doctor  Wishard  must  have  done  a  world  of  good  as  a 
physician.  I  do  not  mean  in  medicine  alone,  but  in  the  spiritual 
influence  that  he  must  have  had  on  the  people  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact. 

I  can  see  him  standing  up  here  in  front  when  his  birthday 
would  come.  He  never  missed  a  Sunday,  and  whenever  he 
came  forward  to  make  his  birthday  offering  he  would  always 
give  a  talk.  I  can  see  him  at  the  prayer  meetings,  and  he  was 
the  same  in  his  prayers,  earnest  in  his  desires  and  his  hopes. 
The  faithfulness  and  the  example  of  a  man  like  Doctor  Wish- 
ard, in  testimony  and  prayer,  can  not  be  estimated. 

What  a  help  it  is  to  look  back  and  think  of  one  who  reached 
the  years  Doctor  Wishard  did.  There  was  nothing  that  would 
prevent  him  from  coming  to  the  church  unless  he  was  at  a 
place  where  he  could  do  more  good  than  he  could  by  being 
here  at  the  services.  And  then  his  love  for  his  church ;  it  was 
next  to  his  love  for  his  home.  I  have  talked  with  him,  and 
I  know  how  much  he  loved  his  own  home;  he  has  told  me 
of  how  happy  he  was  there.  I  am  glad  that  he  did,  and  I  know 
that  he  loved  the  Seventh  church  next  to  his  own  home. 

We  can  not  measure  the  influence  that  each  one  of  us  may 
have.  If  we  tried  to,  men,  we  would  endeavor  to  live  better 
lives  than  we  do. 

Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver:  Those  of  us  who  are  upon  the 
inside  of  the  management  of  churches  are  often  impressed 
with  the  influence  of  certain  personalities.  The  observation 
of  a  church  officer  who  was  associated  with  Doctor  Wishard 
as  a  member  of  the  session  will,  I  am  sure,  bring  to  us  some 
suggestions,  some  object-lesson  in  the  management  of  church 
life.  Mr.  Chafee,  who  was,  for  a  short  time  at  least,  associ- 
ated with  Doctor  Wishard  in  the  session  of  this  church,  has 
kindly  consented  to  speak  of  Doctor  Wishard  as  a  church 
officer. 


180  William  Henry  Wishard 

Mr.  William  T.  Chafee:  I  have  known  Doctor  Wish- 
ard for  twenty-eight  years,  and  was  associated  with  him  as 
an  elder  in  this  church  for  about  eight  years;  and  I  have  al- 
ways felt  it  to  be  an  especial  privilege  to  come  under  the  direct 
influence  of  this  good  life.  Some  of  you,  and  possibly  all 
of  you,  know  that  lots  of  people,  a  great  many  people,  can 
acquire  influence  by  great  effort  and  work,  either  mental  or 
physical,  but  to  meet  Doctor  Wishard  was  to  feel  the  innate 
power  of  his  influence  for  good.  You  at  once  knew  that  he 
did  not  have  to  acquire  it;  that  he  always  had  it;  and  he  im- 
parted it  to  others. 

As  an  officer  he  was  always  for  peace  and  harmony,  and 
never  allowed  trivial  things  to  interfere  with  his  church  du- 
ties. Until  the  infirmities  of  age  prevented,  he  was  always 
faithful  in  attendance  at  all  services.  You  know  what  John 
said  of  Christ;  "full  of  grace  and  truth,"  meaning  He  was 
good  and  true,  and  came  here  to  inspire  others  with  the  right 
motives  of  life;  and  may  I  not  give  this  as  my  impression  of 
Doctor  Wishard?  He  was  so  kind  and  gentle,  and  had  the 
right  views  of  life.  And  as  we  think  of  it,  what  a  blessing  that 
while  the  mortal  house  has  been  taken  away,  yet  the  influence 
of  his  life  will  always  be  with  us  to  encourage  us  and  help  us 
to  live  as  he  lived  while  he  was  here  with  us. 

Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver:  It  is  our  privilege  also  to  step 
outside  of  church  circles,  outside  of  the  ecclesiastical  sphere, 
and  see  Doctor  Wishard  in  his  own  profession,  see  him  among 
his  colleagues  in  the  professional  world;  and  when  I  asked  the 
speaker  who  is  next  to  address  you  if  he  could  be  with  us  this 
afternoon  he  said,  "I  am  very  busy;  I  have  some  other  plans, 
but  for  the  sake  of  Doctor  Wishard  and  his  family,  I  will  lay 
aside  everything  else  to  be  with  you  on  Sunday  afternoon." 
So  it  is  our  privilege  to  have  Dr.  F.  B.  Wynn  to  speak  to  us 
of  Doctor  Wishard  as  a  Christian  physician. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  181 

Dr.  F.  B.  Wynn  :  The  Christian  ideals  of  a  true  physician 
are  embraced  under  an  eager  and  determined  search  for  the 
truth,  a  profound  reverence  for  the  sacredness  of  the  human 
body  and  hfe  wherever  found,  and  the  opportunity  of  min- 
istration to  suffering  or  erring  humankind.  Applying  these 
principles  to  the  beloved  Doctor  Wishard,  he  is  found  to  meas- 
ure up  to  them  as  few  physicians  have  done. 

The  power  and  goodness  of  our  Creator  are  manifest  upon 
every  hand.  The  Holy  Book  tells  us  of  these  things,  but  we 
only  need  to  use  our  God-given  senses  to  see  in  everything  liv- 
ing as  well  as  inanimate,  a  power  divine.  Miracles  are  occur- 
ring about  us  every  day,  as  wonderful  as  those  of  old,  if  we 
but  stop  to  contemplate  the  evidence  they  give  us  of  God's 
power  and  goodness  and  mercy;  and  one  of  the  greatest  bless- 
ings He  has  bestowed  upon  man  is  the  privilege  of  using  these 
laws  of  the  Creator  for  the  working  of  miracles.  Man  tills 
and  plants  and  fertilizes  the  soil;  but  it  is  a  higher  power 
which  brings  forth. 

And  so  in  every  avenue  of  life,  nature's  laws  are  to  be 
found,  working  for  man's  good  if  he  but  searches  them  out, 
and  learns  their  applicability.  Indeed  it  seems  to  me  to  be  the 
great  purpose  of  our  Creator,  that  man  should  work  out  the 
hidden  wonders  of  the  earth.  Thus  eager  to  know  the  truth 
of  nature's  phenomena,  Benjamin  Franklin  sent  the  little  kite 
into  the  clouds,  brought  down  the  lightning,  and  following 
in  his  footsteps  it  has  l^een  harnessed  in  a  thousand  ways  to 
serve  men's  comfort.  Another  sees  in  a  wild  and  useless  fruit 
the  suggestion  of  great  development,  if  the  laws  of  its  fertiliza- 
tion and  growth  are  but  worked  out  and  applied ;  and  the  re- 
sult is  a  luscious  fruit,  a  peach,  a  seedless  orange,  or  the  trans- 
formation of  the  detested  cactus  into  an  edible  fruit.  And 
turning  to  man,  the  climax  in  creation,  what  of  the  laws  gov- 
erning his  Hfe  and  the  prevention  and  cure  of  disease?    What 


182  William  Henry  Wishard 

fields  of  investigation  should  inspire  men's  souls  like  this?  To 
make  a  sounder  mind  in  a  sounder  body;  to  render  the  "hu- 
man form  divine"  a  fitter  dwelling  place  for  the  soul;  to  re- 
store strength  where  there  was  weakness ;  to  bring  health  and 
physical  efficiency  where  there  had  been  disease;  to  search 
out  and  apply  the  laws  which  will  bring  these  things  to  pass, 
what  greater  or  more  inspiring  problem  in  life?  A  few  only 
in  the  great  profession  of  medicine  have  been  discoverers 
of  elemental  truths.  Such  were  Pasteur,  the  father  of  bac- 
teriology; Koch,  the  discoverer  of  the  germ  of  tuberculosis; 
Morton  and  Simpson,  the  discoverers  of  anaesthesia;  but 
every  physician  measuring  up  to  the  ideal  Christian  standard 
must  be  an  investigator.  Every  patient  becomes  a  problem 
which  he  must  study.  With  a  quickened  conscience,  with  ear- 
nestness and  thoroughness  in  the  light  of  all  the  knowledge 
that  he  can  bring  to  bear,  he  enters  upon  the  task  in  a  prayer- 
ful attitude,  conscious  of  the  sacredness  of  the  human  body 
and  rejoicing  in  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  Creator  in 
permitting  man  to  use  His  laws  in  the  prevention  and  cure  of 
disease. 

Doctor  Wishard  had  this  consciousness  of  responsibility  and 
opportunity  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  To  him  every  case 
was  one  into  which  he  threw  all  of  his  God-given  powers  to 
ascertain  the  truth.  At  eighty  I  have  seen  him  at  the  bedside 
with  every  faculty  alert  to  try  to  unravel  the  mystery  of  dis- 
ease; and  baffled  by  the  grim  destroyer  he  did  not  lose  faith, 
or  forget  obligation,  but  following  still  in  quest  of  knowledge 
to  the  death  room,  where  the  autopsy  revealed  wherein  his 
finite  senses  had  failed  him,  coming  out  of  there  a  wiser  man, 
praising  God  that  he  had  knowledge  which  another  time  per- 
haps might  help  him  to  save  a  precious  life. 

Nor  in  his  search  for  the  truth  was  he  content  to  let  mat- 
ters rest  upon  his  years  and  experience ;  he  sought  light  from 


William  Henry  Wishard  183 

whatever  source  was  available.  To  younger  men  in  his  pro- 
fession he  looked  particularly.  To  them  he  listened  with  eager 
ear  and  rejoiced  in  the  marvelous  progress  made  in  medicine. 
His  was  the  open  mind  for  scientific  truth.  He  grew  Ytry  old 
in  years,  but  he  did  not  fossilize.  He  was  a  John  the  Baptist, 
not  disloyal  to  the  past  and  the  profession  as  he  had  known  it, 
but  exhorting  the  younger  generation  of  physicians  to  greater 
things  and  to  higher  ideals  in  the  profession  he  loved  so  well. 

And  may  I  interject,  extemporaneously,  at  this  point  an 
incident  which  perhaps  we  may  apply  to  this  good  man's  life. 

Twenty  years  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to  stand  before  the 
cathedral  in  Cologne.  I  had  seen  many  times  the  beautiful 
pictures  and  etchings  of  that  great  edifice.  I  had  longed  to 
see  it  as  perhaps  the  most  perfect  type  of  Gothic  architecture. 
And  as  I  stood  before  that  great  building  with  its  towering 
spires,  two  of  them  twice  the  height  of  our  monument,  and 
its  great  doors,  the  tops  of  which  are  as  high  as  a  four-story 
building,  I  said  to  myself,  is  not  this  wonderful!  Such  archi- 
tecture, such  grace;  such  a  splendid  building  I  never  before 
have  seen.  And  while  I  stood  there  admiring  that  wonder- 
ful structure  there  came  by  me,  pattering  along,  not  an  old 
man,  but  yet  a  decrepit  person.  He  had  upon  him  everywhere 
the  marks  of  a  sinful  life,  a  life  which  had  been  misspent  in 
evil  doings,  in  excesses,  in  drink;  and  I  was  prone  to  draw 
contrast.  There  was  the  great  temple,  and  here  was  a  misera- 
ble wretch  of  a  man. 

And  to  me,  today,  as  I  contemplate  this  splendid  character, 
whose  life  we  are  considering,  that  incident  comes  back  to  me. 

I  fancy  him  beside  me  at  that  time,  as  I  say  to  him,  "Doc- 
tor, is  not  that  a  wonderful  building?  Just  gaze  upon  the 
grace  of  those  splendid  spires,  those  wonderful  doors;  is  not 
that  a  really  wonderful  structure?" 

I  think  he  would  have  looked  at  it  and  said,  "Yes,  it  is.   It 


184  William  Henry  Wishard 

shows  the  handicraft  of  man.  It  shows  how  by  centuries  he 
has  wrought  and  builded  in  a  wonderful  way.  It  is  typical  of 
aspiration  and  higher  things.  It  is  a  splendid  edifice.  But 
do  you  know,  doctor,  that  miserable  man  standing  there  is  to 
me  much  more  beautiful.  Why,"  he  would  say,  "if  you  would 
prick  his  finger  with  a  pin  the  blood  comes  out.  It  seems  in- 
significant, but  look  at  that  drop  of  blood  under  the  micro- 
scope, and  there  you  see  millions  and  millions  of  little  round 
globules.  However  splendid  the  blocks  of  stone  in  this  great 
building,  brought  from  the  mountain  yonder,  there  is  no  one 
of  them  that  compares  witn  a  single  corpuscle  of  that  man's 
blood.  For  where  is  the  man  that  can  make  a  red  blood  cor- 
puscle? And  yet  he  has  in  his  body  millions  and  millions  of 
them." 

"Oh,"  I  would  say,  "I  believe  that  is  true,  doctor;  but 
look  at  the  doors.  Are  not  the  doors  of  that  edifice  wonder- 
ful? Observe  the  bronze  and  the  carving  and  everything.  Is 
not  that  a  wonderful  achievement  of  art?  Notice  them  as 
they  swing  upon  their  great  hinges;  how  graceful,  and  how 
beautiful,  and  how  smoothly  they  operate." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  he  would  say,  "they  are  fine,  very  fine;  but 
how  do  they  compare  with  the  hinges  in  the  wonderful  limbs 
of  this  miserable  man,  moving  on  themselves?  Where  did  you 
ever  see  such  hinges  as  there?" 

And  so  he  put  to  shame  my  comments  upon  that  great  build- 
ing. 

But  I  say,  "Come,  doctor;  let  us  go  within." 

There  we  see  great  windows  that  have  been  the  admiration 
of  centuries;  beautiful  stained  glass,  with  the  sunlight  filtering 
through  them;  some  of  them  builded  by  emperors  and  others 
by  princes  and  others  by  wealthy  persons. 

In  admiration  we  exclaim,  "How  beautiful!  How  beau- 
tiful!" 


William  Henry  Wishaed  185 

"Yes,"  he  would  say,  "they  are  beautiful;  but  to  me  those 
windows  are  not  at  all  comparable  to  the  windows  looking  into 
the  soul  of  that  poor  wretch  outside.  Where  is  the  window  in 
all  the  world  equal  to  the  human  eye?" 

And  again  I  would  be  compelled  to  retire.  And  then  up  the 
great  aisle  we  go,  to  the  center  of  the  church,  with  aisles  run- 
ning right  and  left,  fore  and  aft;  and  I  would  say  to  him, 
"Doctor,  look  at  the  heart  of  the  church.  Is  not  this  splendid? 
Look  at  its  height  and  breadth  with  avenues  running  in  every 
direction  like  arteries  from  the  human  heart.  Is  it  not  fine  and 
inspiring?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  he  would  say,  "but  just  contemplate  the  heart 
of  that  poor  wretch  out  yonder.  His  heart  has  been  throbbing 
for  these  forty  or  fifty  years,  scarcely  missing  a  beat,  seventy 
times  every  minute  for  all  those  years.  Think  of  it  pumping 
out  the  life  blood  from  the  center  of  that  body  to  the  extremity 
of  every  fiber  of  it  for  all  these  years;  when  he  slept,  when  he 
waked,  when  he  worked  and  when  he  played;  whether  he 
was  good  or  bad,  no  matter,  the  pump  worked  all  the  time. 
The  heart  of  that  man  is  a  thousand  times  more  wonderful 
than  the  heart  of  this  cathedral." 

And  so  from  every  standpoint  he  would  have  the  better  of 
the  argument.  I  bring  this  illustration  to  show  you  his  thought 
in  reference  to  the  human  body.  He  looked  upon  the  human 
body  as  a  sacred  thing,  as  a  sacred  temple  in  which  the  soul 
sojourned  during  its  life  upon  this  earth. 

Imbued  with  the  true  spirit  of  the  Christian  physician,  Doc- 
tor Wishard  believed  in  the  sacredness  of  the  human  body  and 
of  human  life.  At  the  bedside  of  the  sick  he  did  not  parley 
about  whether  a  patient  was  colored  or  white ;  rich  or  poor ;  a 
woman  in  scarlet  or  the  most  cultured  and  devout  person.  Al- 
though that  patient  may  have  borne  the  marks  of  sin  or  ac- 
knowledged a  misspent  life,  he  did  not  allow  that  to  weigh  in 


186  William  Henry  Wishard 

the  least  against  his  best  efforts  to  render  help.  Despite  the 
physical  and  moral  wreckage  of  the  body  he  could  see  therein 
a  throbbing  heart,  propelling  the  life  blood  to  every  fiber  of 
that  body  through  the  greatness  and  the  mercy  of  God.  Could 
he  be  less  sympathetic  than  his  Father  in  heaven  ? 

And  how  did  he  measure  up  to  the  ideals  of  a  Christian 
physician  in  ministration  and  moral  direction?  Here  perhaps 
is  the  greatest  field  of  usefulness  of  the  physician  if  he  but  im- 
proves the  opportunities  which  so  often  fall  to  his  lot.  Con- 
template the  temperance  of  this  man — temperate  in  eating  and 
drinking,  contributing  no  doubt  to  his  great  length  of  years; 
temperate  of  speech,  for  who  ever  heard  him  speak  evil  of 
man;  he  preferred  to  magnify  the  good  there  was  in  his  fel- 
lows. His  optimism — how  radiant !  In  the  sickroom  his  good 
cheer  dispelled  the  gloom ;  it  buoyed  hope,  it  gave  courage  for 
ordeals;  or  perchance  if  the  way  led  inevitably  down  into  the 
"valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,"  how  competent  was  he  to 
brighten  the  path.  He  fulfilled  completely  the  appellation  of 
Hippocrates,  "A  good  man,  skilled  in  healing."  He  answered 
the  full  requirements  of  the  Christian  physician. 

Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver:  When  Doctor  Wynn  was  pre- 
senting the  contrast  between  the  man  at  the  cathedral  and  the 
cathedral  I  thought  of  the  church  as  an  investment  of  life,  as 
a  channel  through  which  we  express  our  life.  Some  men  ex- 
press their  life  merely  through  their  business,  through  their 
profession;  and  you  have  heard  the  testimony  of  Doctor  Wish- 
ard expressing  his  life,  investing  his  life  as  a  physician,  in  the 
Christian  physician.  You  have  also  heard  how  he  expressed 
his  life  in  the  local  church;  but  would  it  occur  to  you  that  the 
church  is  the  channel  through  which  a  man's  life  may  go  out 
all  over  the  state,  yea,  sometimes  far  beyond  that?  The 
church  is  the  channel  through  which  we  can  give  the  noblest 


William  Henry  Wishard  187 

expression  to  our  sentiments ;  and  so  I  think  we  may  well  hear 
of  the  influence  of  this  man  in  the  church  at  large,  in  the 
larger  sphere  of  Christian  thought,  by  Dr.  M.  L.  Haines,  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church. 

Rev.  M.  L.  Haines,  D.  D.  :  What  a  rare  Sabbath  day  it 
has  been,  now  drawing  to  its  close.  Filled  from  the  early 
hours  of  the  morning  until  a  few  minutes  ago  full  of  winter 
sunshine,  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky.  ,  No  sign  of  storm,  the  very 
air  tempered  almost  into  balminess.  And  yet  here  it  is  prac- 
tically in  the  middle  of  the  last  month  of  the  round  year.  Win- 
ter sunshine,  that  is  what  this  man  of  God — as  I  have  reason 
to  know  from  the  privileges  I  have  had  of  seeing  him  over 
and  again  during  these  later  years — carried  with  him;  he  dif- 
fused in  his  ver)^  conversation  that  good  cheer  that  Doctor 
Wynn  has  just  spoken  of,  that  "radiant  optimism"  that  he 
manifested.  Not  that  there  were  no  clouds  in  the  sky  at  times 
during  these  later  years.  He  had  his  sorrows,  but  those  sor- 
rows never  shut  out  the  sunshine  that  streamed  down  through 
them.  He  irradiated  those  very  clouds,  and  made  them  rich 
and  beautiful  as  revelations  of  the  light  and  the  love  of  God 
that  can  transfuse  and  transform  earthly  sorrows  with 
heavenly  beauty. 

We  say  there  are  three  great  institutions  in  the  world  in 
which  we  are  called  to  live  and  exert  our  influence,  the  family, 
the  state  and  the  church.  Nothing  has  been  said,  and  I  don't 
know  that  anything  will  be  said,  this  afternoon  of  Doctor 
Wishard  as  a  husband  and  father,  and  as  a  genial  and  gen- 
erous host  in  his  home.  It  is  not  for  us  today,  here  even  in 
this  church  so  dear  to  him,  to  draw  aside  the  curtain  that  veils 
the  sacred  intimacies  of  that  home  life;  but  some  of  us  have 
had  knowledge  of  that  home  life  that  have  revealed  to  us  what 
he  was  in  it,  as  a  husband,  as  a  father,  as  a  friend.     But  he 


188  William  Henky  Wishard 

was  called  to  live  also  in  the  state  as  a  dweller  in  this 
commonwealth  and  as  a  citizen  of  this  American  republic.  In 
those  relations  he  was,  jfirst  of  all,  intelligent;  he  had  convic- 
tions that  were  clear  and  wrought  out  through  his  own  read- 
ing and  observation  and  experience.  He  was  intensely  patri- 
otic, and,  as  you  know,  when  the  great  crisis  was  upon  this  na- 
tion, and  its  very  existence  was  threatened,  he  went  to  the 
front,  a  volunteer  physician,  and  rendered  valuable  services, 
not  merely  for  the  regiments  with  which  he  was  successively 
connected,  not  merely  for  the  soldiers  of  Indiana,  but  for  many 
soldiers  from  the  different  states  of  the  north.  He  was  influ- 
ential in  a  very  large  and  exceptional  way  to  his  country  at  that 
time  through  what  has  been  referred  to  before,  and  ought  to 
be  kept  in  mind.  There  came  from  his  own  clear  mind  and 
warm  heart  the  idea  and  plan  that  the  wounded  and  sick  soldier 
boys  in  the  southland  should  not  be  left  there  in  any  cases 
where  they  could  be  brought  home.  Here,  in  their  own  homes 
and  under  the  immediate  care  of  those  to  whom  they  were  dear, 
the  possibilities  for  their  recovery  would  be  greatly  enhanced. 
That  was  the  idea  originating  in  his  mind  and  carried  out  by 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  our  war  governor.  So  successful  was  this 
plan  that  soon  after  President  Lincoln  issued  an  order  by 
which  not  only  Indiana  soldiers,  but  soldiers  from  many  states 
were  thus  brought  home.  And  how  many  in  all  these  states  of 
the  north  owed  their  lives  to  him  it  would  not  be  easy  to  esti- 
mate.   He  was  a  citizen  at  large  in  that  respect. 

And  then  he  was  a  churchman  at  large  in  an  exceptional 
way.  Reference  has  been  made  by  one  and  another  of  the  pe- 
culiar services  he  rendered  to  the  church  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  I  came  here  twenty-eight  years  ago  last  spring,  and 
the  week  after  my  arrival  I  came  down  to  this  Seventh  church 
where  the  Presbytery  of  Indianapolis  was  then  in  session.   By 


William  Henry  Wishaed  189 

them  I  was  received  as  a  minister  of  the  Presbytery.  I  then 
went  to  Doctor  Wishard's  home  and  was  welcomed  there  as 
he  only  and  his  hospitable  family  could  welcome  a  Presby- 
terian minister.  I  was  impressed  with  the  churchmanship  of 
the  man,  not  in  any  narrow  sectarian  way,  but  by  his  broad- 
minded,  intelligent,  earnest  spirit.  He  had  no  cheap  ideas  of 
the  church  and  its  place  in  human  society.  He  recognized  its 
importance  and  its  value,  and  he  gave  his  life  earnestly  and 
conscientiously  to  the  furtherance  of  the  great  missions  of  the 
church.  I  think  that  during  the  twenty  years  that  followed — 
perhaps  twenty-five  years — my  first  meeting  him,  no  elder  in 
all  the  churches  of  our  Presbytery  was  more  frequent  and  reg- 
ular in  his  attendance  as  a  commissioner  to  the  meetings  of 
the  Presbytery,  he  being  the  senior  elder  of  this  Seventh 
church.  Certainly  no  one  in  those  meetings  took  a  more  ear- 
nest interest  in  the  proceedings  and  discussions  and  in  the  gen- 
eral work  of  the  church.  Time  and  again  he  represented 
this  Presbytery  in  the  meetings  of  our  Synod.  It  was  seventy- 
three  years  ago  that  he  first  entered  personally  and  in  a  very 
practical  way  into  the  life  of  the  church  at  large. 

Before  there  was  any  railroad  in  Indiana  he  went  from  In- 
dianapolis as  a  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  repre- 
senting our  Presbytery.  He  told  me  something  about  that 
journey.  He  received  five  dollars  toward  expenses  from  the 
churches  of  the  Presbytery,  furnishing  the  rest  himself.  He 
journeyed  to  Madison,  and  thence  by  boat  up  the  Ohio  river 
to  Pittsburg,  and  then  went  over  the  mountains  to  Cumber- 
land, Md.,  and  to  Baltimore,  and  then  up  to  Philadelphia. 
That  was  an  exceptionally  important  meeting  of  our  General 
Assembly. 

Again,  in  1869,  he  was  commissioner  to  the  Assembly  in 
New  York,  which  held  an  adjourned  meeting  that  same  year 


190  William  Henry  Wishaed 

at  Pittsburg,  where  also  as  commissioner  he  attended.  There 
in  Pittsburg  was  brought  about,  after  long  consultation  and 
many  prayers,  that  glorious  consummation,  the  reunion  of  the 
New  and  Old  school  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
America. 

Again  at  Portland,  Ore.,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  after  years 
he  was  a  commissioner;  and  once  after  that  he  represented  our 
Presbytery  in  the  General  Assembly  which  met  at  Winona. 

These  experiences  must  have  had  no  little  to  do  with  broad- 
ening his  mind  and  giving  him  that  enlarged  understanding 
of  the  problems  that  confront  the  church  which  was  mani- 
fested even  in  his  ordinary  conversation.  One  could  not  but 
notice  how  he  took  hold  of  these  problems  and  spoke  of  them 
in  a  broad  way.  He  had  heard  them  discussed  by  scholarly 
and  strong  men  in  those  successive  meetings  of  the  General 
Assembly.  And  while  he  loved  his  own  church,  yet  it  was  in 
no  narrow  sectarian  spirit.  He  joined  hands  gladly  with  all  the 
great  bodies  of  Christian  believers  in  our  land,  in  hearty  sym- 
pathy and  co-operation  in  every  good  cause.  How  he  loved 
this  church !  I  thought  that  was  a  fitting  hymn  that  was  sung 
a  few  moments  ago,  "Sweet  Hour  of  Prayer."  He  loved  the 
prayer  services  of  the  church,  and  had  his  part  in  them,  and  a 
very  influential  part.  If  today  he  were  permitted  to  come  back 
and  speak  to  you,  the  members  of  this  church,  I  believe  he 
would  call  upon  you  to  continue  to  give  your  love  to  this 
church.  It  has  been  a  church  that  has  been  exceptional  in 
many  ways  in  the  years  that  I  have  been  privileged  to  know  it. 
Exceptional  in  its  earnestness  of  spirit;  exceptional  in  the 
number  of  trained  and  earnest  workers  it  has  sent  out  into 
other  churches  in  the  city  and  in  the  state  and  in  the  nation, 
and  to  lands  beyond  the  sea.  The  influence  of  such  a  man  and 
such  an  elder  as  Doctor  Wishard  has  been  no  small  factor  in 
giving  that  indescribable  and  yet  most  valuable  kind  of  church 


William  Henry  Wishard  191 

life  that  you  have  shared  in,  that  real  love  for  the  church  and 
earnest  devotion  to  it  that  makes  it  a  means  of  such  priceless 
good  to  its  membership  and  through  them  to  the  life  of  the 
world. 

HYMN 

Softly  now  the  light  of  day 
Fades  upon  my  sight  away; 
Free  from  care,  from  labour  free, 
Lord,  I  would  commune  with  Thee. 

Thou,  whose  all-pervading  eye 
Naught  escapes,  without,  within, 

Pardon  each  infirmity, 
Open  fault,  and  secret  sin. 

Soon  for  me  the  light  of  day 
Shall  forever  pass  away; 
Then,  from  sin  and  sorrow  free, 
Take  me.  Lord,  to  dwell  with  Thee. 

Thou  who,  sinless,  yet  hast  known 

All  of  man's  infirmity; 
Then,  from  thine  eternal  throne, 

Jesus,  look  with  pitying  eye. 

Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver:  The  test  of  a  man's  philos- 
ophy and  his  religion  is  often  manifest  at  the  close  of  life. 
There  are  a  great  many  philosophies  and  some  religions  that 
are  very  satisfactory  while  we  are  prosperous,  while  we  are  in 
the  noonday  of  life,  but  when  it  comes  to  the  sunset  they  do 
not  give  the  satisfaction  and  peace  which  we  feel  comes  with 
the  clear  and  true  understanding  of  our  relationship  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  am  glad  therefore  to  have  the  privilege 
of  some  words  this  afternoon  from  a  man  who  has  known 
Doctor  Wishard  only  in  the  sunset,  only  at  the  latter  day. 
Doctor  Skinner,  of  Grace  Presbyterian  church,  is  to  speak  to 
us  of  some  impressions  which  he  has  discerned  in  the  life  of 


192  William  Henry  Wishard 

Doctor  Wishard,  coming  to  know  him  as  he  has  in  the  sunset 
glow. 

Rev.  a.  C.  V.  Skinner:  I  am  very  glad  to  be  here  this 
afternoon.  I  was  denied  the  privilege  of  being  at  the  funeral 
services  on  Friday  afternoon,  as  I  was  conducting  a  funeral 
connected  with  my  own  church.  I  am  very  glad  to  be  here  at 
this  memorial  service  just  to  speak  a  little  word  of  appreciation 
of  the  privilege  I  enjoyed  of  being  with  Doctor  Wishard  dur- 
ing the  last  two  years  of  his  life.  I  remember  just  after  I 
came  to  this  city  one  of  my  worthy  sisters  called  my  attention 
to  the  old  saint  shut  in  and  asked  me  if  I  would  call,  and  I  did. 
The  very  first  visit  I  made  I  felt  very  much  at  home,  and  from 
that  time  I  have  been  visiting  him.  I  had  sat  for  years  at  the 
feet  of  a  brother  of  his,  whom  I  am  told  is  not  here,  but  I 
felt  that  through  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Wishard  I  knew  Dr.  Wil- 
liam H.  Wishard.  And  here  I  want  to  make  a  confession.  It 
was  not  altogether  with  a  view  of  helping  him,  because  I  felt 
that  with  such  a  rich  and  deep  experience  that  I  found  at  once 
was  his,  I  could  not  benefit  him  in  any  way.  I  am  here  to  tes- 
tify this  afternoon,  men  and  women,  that  nothing  answered 
to  my  soul  better  than  to  sit  down  at  the  bedside  of  that  old 
saint,  waiting  in  Beulah  land  for  the  summons  to  come;  and 
although  I  was  a  frequent  visitor  with  him  in  the  last  two 
years  I  never  came  out  of  that  home  that  I  was  not  a  richer 
and  better  man. 

The  reference  made  in  the  letter  the  pastor  read  at  the  be- 
ginning this  afternoon  is  not  only  a  beautiful  one,  but  one 
of  the  most  fitting  tributes  in  my  judgment;  and  if  the  pastor 
had  not  suggested  to  me  that  he  was  only  to  grant  me  five, 
or,  at  the  utmost,  ten  minutes,  and  if  I  could  have  eighteen  or 
twenty  minutes  I  purposed  to  bring  to  you  a  story  that  I  read 
to  my  people  a  few  nights  ago  of  Dr.  William  McCIure,  "The 
Doctor's   Last  Journey."    I   have  always   felt,  since   I   have 


William  Henry  Wishakd  193 

known  Doctor  Wishard,  that  the  two  Hves  run  so  absolutely 
parallel  in  such  a  rich,  deep  and  beautiful  Christian  experience 
that  I  could  find  nothing  better  to  speak  of  than  to  bring  the 
story  of  Dr.  William  McClure  before  you  this  afternoon.  But 
time  will  not  permit. 

I  recall  well  the  last  visit  I  made  to  Doctor  Wishard — and 
you  will  pardon  this  little  parenthesis,  because  that  is  what  it 
is;  it  will  let  us  have  a  little  glimpse  into  the  kind  of  a  life  the 
old  saint  was  enjoying — I  remember  when  I  got  there  I  rested 
down  in  the  parlor  for  a  few  minutes,  and  bye  and  bye  I  was 
asked  to  go  up  and  see  him.  I  did  not  wonder  very  much  what 
was  taking  place  while  I  was  sitting  there,  but  I  very  soon 
found  out  when  I  got  to  the  bedroom.  It  seems  to  me  that  he 
had  that  baby  honesty  and  artlessness  which  could  hide  noth- 
ing that  was  worth  while ;  and  he  called  my  attention,  immedi- 
ately I  got  up  to  the  bedside  and  sat  down,  to  the  fact  that  the 
nurse  had  changed  some  clothing  he  had  on  and  got  some 
"prettier  things,"  as  he  said,  to  make  him  appear  a  little  more 
acceptable  when  I  came  in;  and  I  rememl^er  the  laugh  that 
passed  over  his  face,  so  beautiful,  so  grand.  We  had  a  good 
hearty  laugh  together.  It  did  us  all  good.  And  do  you  know, 
I  came  away  from  that  visit  with  a  glimpse  into  that  sweet, 
rich,  abiding  spirit,  the  artless  honesty,  the  homelike  spirit  that 
just  wanted  to  take  things  as  they  are. 

I  will  never  forget  just  before  Easter  time  I  made  a  visit  to 
him  and  I  said  immediately  I  had  arrived,  "Well,  they  are  need- 
ing a  little  preaching  this  week,  and  if  you  will  let  me  I  am 
going  to  practice  on  you  what  I  am  going  to  preach  next  Sab- 
bath morning."  And  he  replied,  "Go  on ;  I  am  always  ready ;" 
and  I  opened  up  the  Testament  to  that  most  glorious  chapter 
of  the  resurrection.  First  Corinthians,  fifteenth,  and  I  ran 
through  some  things,  and  stopped  here  and  there  and  chatted 
about  them.     If  there  was  one  thing  more  than  another  that 


194  William  Henry  Wishard 

gripped  that  true,  unassuming  soul  of  his  it  was  just  that  fact, 
the  assurance  and  the  reality  of  the  resurrection  life  to  come; 
and  he  said  to  me,  "May  I  tell  you  a  story  ?  Long  years  smce 
my  mother  died  and  left  me  for  heaven.  Do  you  know,  I  have 
seen  her  lately,  more  beautiful,  more  attractive  than  ever." 
I  haven't  time  to  tell  you  all  he  said  about  that,  but  I  will 
never  forget  what  came  rushing  into  my  soul.  Oh,  the  sweet 
beauty  of  assurance!  Oh,  the  glorying  fact,  the  reality  of  the 
resurrection  life!  And  I  said  when  I  came  away,  "Well,  he  is 
meandering  down  the  slope,  a  little  more  into  the  offing,  a  little 
more  into  the  sunset."  And  I  recalled  so  well  that  song  that 
was  sung,  "Sunset  and  Evening  Star."  I  remembered  Lord 
Tennyson's  "Crossing  the  Bar." 

I  remember  one  of  the  several  visits  I  made  to  him  partic- 
ularly. I  think  chiefly  at  that  visit  we  talked  about  the  res- 
urrection, just  before  Easter,  and  he  brought  up  to  my  memory 
a  little  poem  by  May  Riley  Smith.  He  excited  that  memory 
by  some  statement  he  made  about  those  who  had  gone  before, 
and  I  think  I  must  have  recited  most  of  the  poem  on  that  visit, 
and  I  think  it  would  be  very  beautiful  and  fitting  here.  But 
just  before  I  do  so  I  wish  to  tell  you  this:  if  I  had  never  had  a 
trust  in  the  salvation  of  Jesus,  if  I  had  never  been  trained  in 
an  old-time  Christian  home,  if  I  had  never  looked  into  the 
face  of  a  grandfather  just  ninety-eight,  just  such  a  man  as 
this,  precisely  of  that  stock,  that  old  staid  Covenanter  stock — 
if  I  had  never  had  all  that  in  my  early  days — I  must  confess 
this,  that  the  frequent  visits  I  made  in  the  last  few  years  to 
this  good  old  man  would  have  brought  me  home  to  the  Lord. 
No  man  could  sit  long  by  his  bedside  and  remain  away  from 
his  Lord  and  Master.  He  could  not  do  it.  For  to  sit  at  that 
bedside  was  a  refreshment  that  a  man  could  not  find  anywhere 
else. 

So  I  am  glad  to  be  here  today  and  give  a  simple  broken  word 


William  Henry  Wishaed  195 

of  testimony,  just  as  real  as  my  heart  can  make  it,  to  this  good 
man  that  came  to  the  age  of  ninety-seven.  It  was  my  joy  to  be 
able  to  be  with  him  as  much  as  I  was. 

Now  we  will  recall  those  lines  of  May  Riley  Smith  that 
comforted  him  as  they  have  others  many  times : 

Some  time  when  all  life's  lessons  have  been  learned, 

And  sun  and  stars  forevermore  have  set, 
The  things  which  our  weak  judgments  here  have  spurned. 

The  things  o'er  which  we  grieved  with  lashes  wet. 
Will  flash  before  us  out  of  life's  dark  night 

As  stars  shine  most  in  deeper  tints  of  blue; 
And  we  shall  see  how  all  God's  plans  were  right, 

And  how  what  seemed  reproof  was  love  most  true. 

And  we  shall  see  how,  while  we  frown  and  sigh, 

God's  plans  go  on  as  best  for  you  and  me ; 
How,  when  we  called,  He  heeded  not  our  cry. 

Because  His  wisdom  to  the  end  could  see. 
And  e'en  as  prudent  parents  disallow 

Too  much  sweet  to  craving  babyhood. 
So  God,  perhaps,  is  keeping  from  us  now 

Life's  sweetest  things  because  it  seemeth  good. 

And  if,  sometimes,  commingled  with  life's  wine. 

We  find  the  wormwood,  and  rebel  and  shrink, 
Be  sure  a  wiser  hand  than  yours  or  mine 

Pours  out  the  potion  for  our  lips  to  drink. 
And  if  some  friend  we  love  is  lying  low. 

Where  human  kisses  can  not  reach  his  face. 
Oh,  do  not  blame  the  loving  Father  so. 

But  bear  your  sorrow  with  obedient  grace. 

And  you  shall  shortly  know  that  lengthened  breath 

Is  not  the  sweetest  gift  God  sends  His  friends, 
And  that,  sometimes,  the  sable  pall  of  death 

Conceals  the  fairest  boon  His  love  can  send. 
If  we  could  push  ajar  the  gates  of  life, 

And  stand  within,  and  all  God's  working  see. 
We  could  interpret  all  this  doubt  and  strife, 

And  for  each  mystery  could  find  a  key. 


196  William  Henry  Wishard 

But  not  today ;  then  be  content,  poor  hearts ; 

God's  plans  like  lilies  pure  and  white  unfold; 
We  must  not  tear  the  close-shut  leaves  apart — 

Time  will  reveal  the  caljrxes  of  gold. 
And  if,  through  patient  toil,  we  reach  the  land 

Where  tired  feet,  with  sandals  loosed,  may  rest. 
When  we  shall  know  and  clearly  understand, 

I  think  that  we  shall  say  that  "God  knows  best.' 


Prayer  by  Rev.  Claude  R.  Shaver 

We  are  thankful,  our  Father  in  heaven,  for  many  things. 
We  are  thankful  for  the  sunshine  and  the  brightness  of  life. 
We  are  thankful  for  the  sunsets  when  the  sunsets  bring  us  such 
a  radiant  glow  of  another  sunrise,  of  the  dawn  of  eternity, 
wherein  sorrows  and  sighing  shall  be  away,  and  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  the  eye.  We  are  thankful  for  these 
lives  which  Thou,  oh  God,  hast  touched;  for  surely  if  there  is 
any  doubt  in  our  minds  as  to  the  reality  of  Thy  presence 
among  us,  that  reality  is  emphasized  as  we  think  of  the  good 
man,  of  the  life  lifted  up  into  a  union  with  God,  of  a  life  that 
walked  with  God,  of  a  life  that  could  reflect  something  of  the 
goodness  of  God,  something  of  the  radiance  and  warmth  of 
His  love,  something  of  His  enthusiasms  that  all  men  might  be 
saved,  that  all  men  might  be  lifted  up  into  that  community  and 
fellowship  which  means  life  everlasting. 

And  so,  our  Father,  as  we  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
action  of  Thy  spirit  upon  this  one  man,  may  our  hearts  open 
that  those  influences  may  be  ours ;  that  this  kind  of  life  may  be 
our  privilege;  for  it  is  a  privilege  to  live  the  life  after  Christ; 
it  is  a  privilege  to  walk  in  His  footsteps,  even  though  we  walk 
haltingly,  even  though  we  stumble,  even  though  we  are  only 
human.  Yet  because  we  are  human  did  Jesus  come,  because 
we  are  human  did  he  speak  to  us  as  a  man;  and  as  men  and 
women  we  may  turn  to  Him,  even  as  our  brother  did  turn  to 


William  Henry  Wishard  197 

Him,  and  find  that  peace  that  passeth  all  understanding  in  the 
joy  of  our  Lord. 

And  now  may  there  be  just  a  moment  of  consecration  when 
\VQ  ask  ourselves  as  to  how  we  are  using  our  lives.  If  we  are 
wasting  them  in  the  things  of  the  world,  if  we  are  letting  slip 
from  us  these  golden  moments  of  the  days  at  hand,  if  they 
are  slipping  from  us  into  idleness  and  worldliness,  may  we  rise 
to  our  privilege  to  claim  this  Savior,  to  claim  this  relationship 
to  God  Almighty  which  shall  mean  a  transformed  life,  life 
after  the  "measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 
So  wilt  Thou  keep  us  and  bless  us  and  send  us  home  thankful, 
with  sincere  desire  to  make  the  most  of  these  days,  that  when 
we  come  to  the  sunset  close  we  may  wrap  the  draperies  of  our 
couch  about  us  and  lie  down,  not  merely  to  dream  of  the 
revelation  and  apocalypse,  but  to  a  glorified  resurrected  life  in 
that  world  where  God  lives  in  fellowship  with  those  who  ap- 
preciate nobility  and  purity  and  truth.    In  Christ  Jesus,  Amen. 

And  now  may  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all  understand- 
ing keep  your  hearts  and  lives,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord, 
Amen. 


WILLIAM    HENRY  WISHARD 

AN  APPRECIATION   BY  A  FELLOW   CLANSMAN* 

"Then  there  came  forth  a  sumtnons  for  Mr.  Standfast,  the  contents 
whereof  were  that  he  must  prepare  for  a  change  of  Hfe,  for  his  Master 
was  not  willing  that  he  should  be  so  far  from  him  any  longer." 

THE  life  of  the  good  old  doctor,  William  H.  Wishard, 
which  closed  in  triumph  in  Indiana's  capital  on  the  9th  of 
December,  was  a  singular  blending  of  many  rare  lives  whose 
records  have  been  preserved  in  imperishable  biography.  His 
individuality  was  so  pronounced,  so  far  removed  from  the  com- 
monplace, that  if  such  a  hero-worshiper  and  book-maker  as  Ian 
MacLaren  had  known  him,  he  would,  doubtless,  have  given 
him  as  commanding  a  place  in  one  of  his  inimitable  annals  of 
real  life  as  he  gave  "Weelum  MacLure,"  the  doctor  of  the  old 
school.  The  substitution  of  local  names  is  the  only  modifica- 
tion called  for  in  one  of  the  well-known  paragraphs  in  the 
"Bonnie  Briar  Bush"  in  applying  to  our  late-departed  William 
the  striking  allusion  to  the  Scottish  doctor :  "When  the  reapers 
in  harvest  time  saw  a  figure  whirling  past  in  a  cloud  of  dust, 
or  the  family  at  the  foot  of  Glen  Urtach,  gathered  round  the 
fire  on  a  winter's  night,  heard  the  rattle  of  a  horse's  hoofs  on 
the  road,  they  knew  it  was  the  doctor,  and,  without  being  con- 
scious of  it,  wished  him  godspeed."  How  aptly  this  describes 
the  feelings  of  the  pioneers  in  the  primeval  forests  of  central 
Indiana  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when  Doctor  Wish- 
ard ministered  to  the  sick  and  suffering  in  the  clearings  of  the 
great  and  terrible  wilderness. 

If  character-building  begins  a  hundred  years  before  one's 
birth,  as  the  beloved  doctor,  the  autocrat  of  the  breakfast 
table,  put  it,  may  it  not  also  begin  a  millennium  earlier  ?    Doc- 

•Reprint  from  Herald  and  Presbytery,  April  15,  1914. 

198 


William  Henry  Wishard  199 

tor  Wishard's  life  was  too  crowded  with  his  daily  tasks  to  ad- 
mit of  extended  genealogical  research  beyond  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  from  which  date  he  loved  to  trace  his 
ancestry.  Had  he  been  so  minded,  he  could  have  extended  his 
family  tree  to  the  centuries  of  the  Crusades,  when  members 
of  the  family  fought  in  Syria,  subdued  and  governed  whole 
provinces  of  Italy,  sacked  the  eternal  city  itself,  founded  the 
kingdom  of  Sicily,  crossed  the  channel  with  William  for  the 
conquest  of  England,  fought  the  battles  for  freedom  in  Scot- 
land which  placed  Bruce  on  the  throne.  Bishop  Wishart,  of 
Glasgow,  being  honored  in  placing  the  crown  on  the  Bruce's 
head  at  Scone.  The  doughty  ancestors  of  this  man  of  peace 
not  only  wrestled  with  flesh  and  blood  in  their  struggles  for 
political  freedom ;  they  were  foremost  in  the  Holy  wars  waged 
against  the  Man  of  Sin,  the  Antichrist,  as  they  called  the  Holy 
Father,  who  was  neither  holy  nor  a  father.  George  Wishart, 
the  forerunner  of  Knox,  by  yielding  up  his  life  at  the  stake  in 
St.  Andrews,  kindled  the  watchfires  of  the  Scottish  Refor- 
mation, whose  light,  mingling  with  the  glow  of  those  kindled 
in  Germany,  has  shone  round  the  world.  Doctor  Wishard's 
genealogical  studies  never  antedated  the  life  of  his  grand- 
father William,  who  followed  the  trade  of  weaver,  which  call- 
ing has  been  forever  dignified  by  the  hands  of  David  Living- 
stone. He  was  driven  from  his  country  by  the  Covenanter 
persecution,  tarried  long  enough  on  the  Emerald  Isle  to  woo, 
win  and  wed  one  of  Ireland's  comely  daughters,  took  ship  for 
America,  where  he  landed  in  time  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
colonies  in  their  fight  which  achieved  their  independence  and 
established  forever  for  all  Britons  the  principle  that  all  men 
are  created  free  and  equal.  With  such  blood,  such  forebears, 
such  battles  for  political  and  religious  freedom  to  inspire  him, 
how  could  he  have  been  other  than  good  and  brave  and  true? 
As  we  scrutinize  the  scenes  and  records  of  his  life,  his  charac- 


200  William  Henry  Wishaed 

ter  readily  analyzes  itself  into  one  of  simplicity,  sincerity,  gen- 
erosity and  hospitality,  to  say  nothing  of  his  spirit  of  self- 
initiative  and  his  marvelous  genius  for  hard  work. 

Long  before  Theodore  Roosevelt  introduced  Wagner,  the 
gentle  teacher  of  the  simple  life,  to  his  fellow  countrymen, 
Doctor  Wishard  had  lived  out  its  salient  principles  in  his  quiet, 
unobtrusive  life  of  serving  others  :  for  he  lived  not  to  be  minis- 
tered unto,  but  to  minister.  His  wants  were  so  modest  com- 
pared with  those  which  we  of  today  convert  into  imaginary 
necessities.  He  was  pre-eminently  a  member  of  that  great 
class  of  our  countrymen  whom  our  greatest  president  charac- 
terized as  the  plain  people.  He  was  most  approachable.  His 
simple,  hearty,  sympathetic,  unaffected  manner  always  and  in- 
stantly dispossessed  one  of  all  embarrassment  and  led  one  to 
open  his  heart  and  tell  out  the  story  of  his  life  to  the  good  doc- 
tor as  freely  as  to  a  father. 

His  sincerity  was  absolute.  I  have  never  known  a  whiter 
soul.  There  was  literally  no  wax  in  the  honey  secreted  by  his 
daily  life.  He  could  tell  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth; 
and  when  necessity  required,  no  man  could  tell  the  whole  truth 
more  fearlessly,  however  much  it  might  confuse  and  terrify 
those  whose  misdeeds  called  for  deep  surgical  cutting  and  the 
laying  open  of  unseen  virus.  He  was  also  quick  to  believe  the 
truth.  His  confidence  in  men  was  sometimes  betrayed,  but  his 
very  sincerity,  as  a  rule,  called  out  the  best  that  was  in  men  and 
led  them  to  deal  with  him  as  he  ever  dealt  with  them.  Under 
the  spell  of  his  kind  eyes  and  gentle  voice,  the  truth  would  out, 
as  I  have  seen  on  more  than  one  occasion  when  taking  testi- 
mony for  him  during  the  time  when  his  duties  as  coroner  of 
his  county  engaged  him  in  the  examination  of  criminals. 

His  generosity  was  proverbial.  It  was  simply  extravagant. 
His  free  practice  and  uncollected  bills  would  have  endowed  his 
old  age.     He  would  lavish  his  best  skill  upon  a  poor  patient. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  201 

ciiarge  him  a  nominal  fee,  and  then  more  than  offset  the  fee 
by  entertaining  him  at  dinner. 

He  could  not  be  other  than  hospitable.  He  was  bom  and 
bred  to  his  tenth  year  in  old  Kentucky,  whose  very  name  will 
ever  stand  as  a  synonym  for  whole-hearted  hospitality.  His 
early  life  in  the  big  woods  of  Indiana  only  developed  this  trait. 
Long  before  the  modern  invention  his  dining  table  was  an  ex- 
tension table,  and  his  guest  rooms  were  never  empty. 

He  was  a  man  of  initiative,  a  blazer  of  new  trails.  With- 
out yielding  to  any  one  in  loyal  reverence  for  the  ways  and 
doings  of  the  fathers,  concerning  which  he  loved  to  discourse 
by  the  hour,  his  face  was  always  set  toward  the  future  and  his 
eyes  were  ever  fixed  upon  the  stars.  He  was  the  first  mem- 
ber of  the  American  family  to  break  away  from  the  soil  and 
exchange  the  toil  and  hardships  of  manual  labor  for  the  heav- 
ier toil  and  hardships  of  professional  life.  He  was  followed 
in  quick  succession  into  his  new  lines  of  activity  by  members 
of  his  family  and  their  descendants. 

He  lived  in  one  of  the  great  eras  of  his  country's  history. 
Too  old  to  be  permitted  to  shoulder  a  musket  and  fight  in  the 
ranks,  he  laid  upon  his  country's  altar  his  professional  skill, 
and  gave  the  best  that  was  in  him,  without  a  penny  of  financial 
recompense,  in  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
at  the  front.  In  this  connection  it  was  his  privilege  to  render 
a  service  which  will  ever  link  his  name  with  some  of  the  most 
eminent  leaders  in  the  irrepressible  conflict.  It  was  at  his  sug- 
gestion and  on  the  basis  of  his  investigations  and  reports  to  the 
great  war  governor,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  that  President  Lincoln, 
in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  his  war  secretary,  Stanton,  sup- 
ported Governor  Morton  in  his  application  for  permission  to 
transfer  the  soldiers  in  the  southern  camp  hospitals  to  the 
homes  and  hospitals  of  their  native  state.  This  policy  was 
imitated  by  other  states,  and  this  method  of  caring  for  dis- 


202  William  Henry  Wishard 

abled  soldiers  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  great  humane  and 
effective  medical  and  sanitary  measures  of  the  war.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that,  notwithstanding  the  magnitude  of  this 
strategic  service,  Doctor  Wishard  never,  to  the  writer's  knowl- 
edge, alluded  to  his  part  in  it.  It  was  sufficient  for  him  that 
it  had  been  done.  He  was  never  the  man  to  arrogate  to  him- 
self the  emoluments  of  praise  and  notoriety  for  having 
planted  and  watered  in  new  fields.  He  was  only  concerned 
with  the  increase.  He  was  so  absorbed  in  rejoicing  over  the 
harvests  which  he  had  planted  that  he  lost  sight  entirely  of  his 
premiership  in  the  planting. 

His  domestic  life  was  ideal.  No  parents  ever  had  a  more 
loving,  faithful  son.  He  honored  them  not  only  through  their 
lifetime,  but  to  the  end  of  his  life  it  was  an  unceasing  delight 
to  recall  the  sturdy  manhood  of  his  father  and  the  loving  home 
ministry  of  his  gentle  mother.  Surely,  his  days  were  long  in 
the  land  which  the  Lord  his  God  had  given  him.  His  own 
home  life  was  enriched,  as  that  of  few  men,  by  a  most  loving 
wife  and  wise  and  faithful  mother.  His  courtship  and  mar- 
riage were  one  of  the  romantic  incidents  of  the  early  forties. 
Harriet  Moreland,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  first  Presbyterian 
ministers  of  Indianapolis,  was  the  bride.  Her  eulogy  was 
long  ago  written  by  the  Wise  Man  in  his  matchless  tribute  to 
women  in  the  last  chapter  of  Proverbs.  He  followed  his  chil- 
dren into  their  walks  of  life  with  daily  prayer  and  wise  coun- 
sel. 

He  had  long  awaited  his  Master's  summons.  His  family 
and  associates  in  his  profession  had  gathered  round  him,  as 
the  students  in  Oxford  who  banked  up  the  Wesley  tree  that  it 
might  outlive  the  century;  but  his  Master  had  need  of  him, 
and  we  can  not  doubt  that  the  wistful  eyes  and  yearning  hearts 
of  a  multitude  of  his  old  friends  were  watching  and  weary- 
ing for  his  home-coming.     The  vast  concourse  that  followed 


William  Henry  Wishaud  203 

him  in  thought  and  sorrow  to  the  cluster  of  low  green  tents 
on  Crown  Hill  that  brief  December  day  was  far  outnumbered 
by  the  multitude  that  looked  down  on  that  scene. 

"Glorious  it  was  to  see  how  the  open  region  was  filled  with 
horses  and  chariots,  with  trumpeters  and  pipers,  with  singers 
and  players  on  stringed  instruments,  who  welcomed  the  pil- 
grim as  he  went  up  and  in  at  the  beautiful  gate  of  the  city." 

Luther  D.  Wishard. 


AS  A  FORMER  PASTOR  KNEW  HIM 

Rev.  David  Ayrton  Heron^  D.  D. 

FOR  six  years  it  was  my  "proud  privilege"  to  be  Doctor 
Wishard's  pastor.  During  those  years,  1902-8,  I  saw 
much  of  him  in  God's  house,  in  the  meetings  of  Presbytery  and 
Synod,  and  in  his  own  home.  During  that  period  he  crossed 
the  line  into  his  tenth  decade,  and  I  saw  ninety  tapers  for  his 
ninety  years,  placed  and  lighted  on  his  birthday  cake. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  old  persons  I  ever  knew, 
if  not  the  most  interesting.  His  stories  of  early  life  in  Indi- 
ana and  of  the  early  years  of  his  medical  career,  and  of  his 
courtship  and  home,  and  his  service  for  his  country,  as  an 
officer  of  it,  and  for  his  state  and  nation  during  the  war  of 
1861-5  were  thrilling.  They  were  related  with  a  native  sim- 
plicity, which  impressed  and  charmed. 

Loyal  as  was  Dr.  William  Henry  Wishard  everywhere,  to 
every  station  and  responsibility,  his  loyalty  to  three  great  di- 
vine institutions  always  commanded  my  special  admiration. 
First,  I  heard  the  story,  yes,  more  than  once,  of  his  courtship 
of  Harriet  Newell  Moreland  and  of  their  marriage.  It  must 
have  been  a  remarkable  vest  which  she  made  him,  for  he  wore 
its  fashion  unchangingly  in  his  heart  for  three  quarters  of  a 
century.  The  dire  prophecies  of  his  youthful  friends  that 
their  married  life  would  be  soon  terminated  by  Mrs.  Wish- 
ard's death  were  not  fulfilled.  It  was  with  exquisite  pathos 
that  he  would  refer  to  them,  and  then  say,  "But  we  lived  to- 
gether sixty-one  years  and  four  months  and  eleven  days  and 
I  miss  her  every  day  I  live."  Certainly  no  father  could  ever 
forget  how  he  would  tell  of  the  deaths  of  their  first  children 
and  then  he  would  brighten  up  and  say,  in  quaint  phrase,  "and 

204 


William  Henry  Wishard  205 

then  our  fortune  turned."  It  was  Mrs.  Wishard's  hazardous 
devotion  to  him  during  his  attack  of  smallpox  contracted  in 
the  army  that  made  him  supplement  the  marriage  vow  with 
one  that  he  would  never  leave  her,  but  the  Civil  war  came,  and 
Indiana's  great  war  governor,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  was  anxious 
about  "The  Boys  at  the  Front."  Who  should  represent  him  in 
going  to  see  after  the  welfare  of  the  Indiana  soldiers,  to  care 
for  the  wounded,  and  bring  them  home,  and  to  seek  the  slain, 
and  to  send  home  their  bodies  for  burial?  Who  should  do  this 
tender  and  patriotic  service?  Governor  Morton  answered  by 
asking  Doctor  Wishard  to  go. 

Marital  and  patriotic  emotions  were  in  conflict,  but  Mrs. 
Wishard  was  not  the  woman  to  quench  her  husband's  patriot- 
ism or  to  deafen  his  ear  to  the  call  of  his  country.  Enshrined 
in  his  heart  as  she  was,  she  could  not  throw  down  the  altar 
where  burns  the  patriotic  ardor;  rather  would  she  fan  the 
flame.  How  bravely  and  faithfully  he  executed  his  commis- 
sion scores  of  soldiers  could  testify,  and  the  tender  gratitude 
of  the  friends  of  the  dead  heroes,  whose  bodies  he  sent  home 
for  interment,  lived  for  him  through  all  his  years.  The  Indi- 
ana soldiers  should  rest  in  the  bosom  of  their  own  state,  if  he 
must  exhume  their  bodies,  buried  by  the  authority  of  others, 
but  contrary  to  his  own,  and  this  resolution  he  enforced  in  one 
instance,  as  we  know.  But  only  too  gladly  did  he  return  home 
to  be  "the  saint,  the  father,  and  the  husband"  there. 

Yes,  Doctor  Wishard  was  loyal  to  God's  first  human  insti- 
tution, the  married  and  family  life. 

Second.  It  was  a  necessity  of  his  life  that  he  should  travel 
much  on  the  Lord's  day.  His  profession  required  it.  The 
distance,  during  the  later  years  of  his  life  between  his  place  of 
residence  and  his  "Place  of  Worship"  required  it,  but  the  Sab- 
bath was  a  sacred  day  with  him.  Devoted  to  his  profession  he 
undoubtedly  was,  but  unless  there  was  an  urgent  need,  the  spin- 


206  William  Henry  Wishard 

tual  duties  and  privileges  of  the  day  would  take  precedence  over 
the  professional.  He  was  not  the  man  to  encourage  delaying 
to  come  for  the  doctor  until  Sabbath  morning.  I  have  heard 
him  tell  how,  when  he  lived  in  Greenwood  and  Southport,  in 
his  earlier  years,  and  was  a  Sabbath  school  superintendent,  a 
man  would  come  for  him  to  visit  a  sick  wife  or  child.  "Is  the 
patient  very  sick?  Is  the  need  extreme?"  he  would  ask.  "No, 
but  I  thought  there  is  more  time  today.  We  are  pretty  busy 
on  the  farm  week-days."  "Well  then  you  just  stay  for  Sab- 
bath school  and  church  and  right  away  after  dinner  we  will 
go  out  to  see  the  patient."  He  could  do  such  a  thing  so  gently 
and  firmly  that  no  offense  was  taken;  the  spiritual  had  been 
honored;  the  worship  of  God  had  been  exercised;  a  proposed 
non-attendant  had  been  an  attendant  in  the  house  of  God;  hos- 
pitality had  been  dispensed  in  a  Christian  home ;  the  guest  had 
eaten  the  bread  of  God,  in  the  spiritual  and  physical  forms, 
and  the  professional  service  was  faithfully  rendered.  I  am 
ready  to  affirm  that  the  doctor's  bill  was  not  the  larger  because 
the  man  was  a  guest  at  the  table,  and  his  horse  was  fed  in  the 
stable.  Nor  was  Doctor  Wishard's  Sabbath  observance  less 
simple  and  faithful  during  his  residence  in  Indianapolis.  The 
street  car  conductors  there  knew  that  Doctor  Wishard  was 
going  to  church  or  to  a  home  of  sickness;  he  was  on  his  way 
to  seek  Divine  Mercy,  or  to  offer  medical  mercy.  Yes,  Doc- 
tor Wishard  was  loyal  to  the  day  which  the  Lord  Himself 
named,  and  the  only  one  He  named,  the  Sabbath. 

Third.  He  was  loyal  to  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  was 
a  member  of  it,  an  officer  in  it,  and  glad  and  willing  to  be  a 
representative  in  the  courts  of  the  church  with  which  he  was 
identified.  He  was  a  broad  church  man,  a  catholic  Presbyte- 
rian, loyal  to  Christ's  crown  and  covenant.  Of  course  he  was 
by  ordination  of  personal  descent  and  grace  divine.  He  bore 
a  martyr's  name.     He  was  a  spiritual  descendant,  and  lineal 


William  Henry  Wishaed  207 

too,  of  the  family  of  George  Wishart,  of  heroic  mould  and 
martyr  fame.  Denominational  spirit  and  claims,  in  his  boy- 
hood, were  narrow  and  exclusive,  but  he  loosed  himself  en- 
tirely from  such  trammels,  if  he  was  ever  in  them. 

I  first  saw  Doctor  Wi shard  in  church  and  I  am  confident 
that  I  saw  him  in  the  same  place  six  years  afterward.  I  saw 
him  there  the  Sabbaths  between,  whenever  it  was  feasible, 
perhaps  sometimes  it  was  not.  For  some  weeks  I  remember  he 
had  been  unable  to  come,  when  one  Sabbath  morning,  to  our 
surprise,  he  suddenly  appeared.  Soon  after  the  service  began, 
a  son  came  into  the  church,  looked  anxiously  about,  saw  the 
familiar  venerable  form  among  the  worshipers,  and  quietly 
seated  himself.  The  Sabbath  morning  church  bells  and  the 
fixed  habit  of  church  attendance  had  caused  him  to  turn  his 
face  toward  the  house  of  God,  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
dear  ones  at  home,  who  thought  him  too  much  enfeebled  by 
age  to  make  the  journey  across  the  city  and  naturally  were 
concerned  for  his  safety. 

He  was  earnest  in  his  church  life,  wise  in  counsel  for  the 
advancement  of  Zion,  intelligent  in  the  divine  promise  for  her 
triumph,  and  generous  and  chivalrous  in  seeking  it.  Yes,  Doc- 
tor Wishard  loved  the  church,  and  was  her  loyal  son  for  the 
great  majority  of  the  years  of  his  long  life.  Lovingly  and 
grateful  do  I  cherish  his  loyalties,  but  especially  these  three. 


EDITORIALS 

The  Indianapolis  Star — December  lo,  ipi^ 

THE  death  of  Dr.  William  H.  Wishard  at  the  great  age  of 
ninety-seven  removes  from  the  community  one  of  its  most 
esteemed  and  honored  citizens.  He  was  identified  with  the 
community  for  a  period  far  longer  than  the  average  life  of 
man  and  until  his  recent  years  of  physical  disability  was  ac- 
tive in  all  the  things  that  go  to  make  good  citizenship. 

As  a  physician  in  practice  in  Indianapolis  and  vicinity  from 
pioneer  days  until  a  modern  city  stood  where  he  had  once  seen 
wilderness,  he  set  an  example  of  professional  ability  and  in- 
tegrity that  no  doubt  had  its  part  in  fixing  the  medical  stand- 
ard that  now  gives  Indianapolis  physicians  such  high  rank. 
But  Doctor  Wishard's  service  to  his  community  was  not  con- 
fined to  his  professional  practice.  His  patriotism  was  shown 
in  his  civil  war  service  and  his  public  spirit  was  manifested  in 
his  participation  in  all  movements  for  the  common  benefit. 

He  was  always  keenly  interested  in  the  affairs  of  the  day 
and  even  after  his  bodily  powers  failed,  which  was  not  until 
he  had  reached  advanced  age,  he  continued  to  feel  the  same  in- 
terest in  current  events,  local  and  national.  Unlike  most  aged 
people  his  mind  did  not  continually  turn  to  the  past,  but  was 
alert  to  the  present  even  to  his  last  hours.  His  youthful  men- 
tality was  most  remarkable  and  undoubtedly  had  much  to  do 
with  the  continuance  of  his  life  nearly  to  the  century  limit. 

Doctor  Wishard  was  born  in  1816,  the  year  in  which  Indi- 
ana was  admitted  to  the  Union.  He  had  been  a  witness  of  the 
state's  wonderful  evolution  and  such  an  experience  made  a 
rich  life.  He  has  gone  in  the  fulness  of  years,  but  will  be  re- 
membered as  one  who  helped  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the 
commonwealth. 

208 


William  Henry  Wishard  209 

The  Indianapolis  News — December  lo,  19 13 

Doctor  Wishard  is  dead  in  his  ninety-eighth  year,  but  years 
are  a  mere  incident. 

Men  must  endure 

Their  going  hence  even  as  their  coming  hither ; 

Ripeness  is  all. 

He  was  as  ready  to  die  forty  years  ago  as  now — though  a 
deal  of  good  work  would  have  been  left  undone  if  he  had  died 
then.  The  world  goes  on  without  any  certain  man.  But 
every  community  goes  less  well  when  such  a  sturdy  character 
as  Doctor  Wishard  perishes.  From  his  early  days  to  the  end 
of  his  long  and  honorable  life  he  radiated  the  influence  of  a 
character  that  "stood  four  square  to  all  the  winds  that  blew." 
His  work  as  a  physician  in  the  wilderness  here,  when  he  be- 
gan it,  was  of  inestimable  value.  But  of  more  value  was  his 
character. 

In  those  days  medical  education  was  not  great,  at  best,  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  present.  It  was  more  like  apprentice- 
ship to  a  trade.  The  young  doctor  read  in  the  office  of  the  old 
doctor  and  aided  as  he  could;  then  went  his  own  way.  It  is 
characteristic  of  Doctor  Wishard  that  he  was  not  satisfied  with 
all  that  he  could  get  thus.  He  ceased  practice  to  go  to  the  In- 
diana Medical  college  for  what  more  he  could  learn  there. 
Graduated  from  it  and  resumed  practice,  later  he  stopped 
again  and  studied  at  the  Ohio  Medical  college,  whence  he  was 
also  graduated.  That  was  character.  He  could  not  live  with 
himself  without  getting  all  that  could  be  got  to  qualify  him 
for  the  beneficent  work  of  the  physician. 

Born  in  Kentucky,  whence  came  so  many  early  settlers  to 
Indiana,  he  was  nine  years  old  when  his  father  settled  just  at 
the  Marion  county  line.  The  boy,  oldest  of  eleven,  had  the 
life  of  pioneer  children;  riding  miles  to  the  mills  with  com  to 


210  William  Henry  Wishard 

be  taken  home  ground,  fording  streams  and  dodging  the  dark- 
ness of  unbroken  forests  as  he  rode.  Little  wonder  that  stur- 
diness  of  character  came  to  such  a  boy.  In  this  case  it  had  the 
right  stuff  to  work  on.  All  his  life  he  stood  fast,  compro- 
mising nothing.  He  was  one  of  the  soundest,  sweetest,  most 
sincere,  direct,  and  lovable  of  men,  and  he  was  ever  young. 
Until  the  last  days  that  beclouded  his  memory  and  weakened 
his  wonderful  strength,  an  hour  spent  with  him  was  a  great  ex- 
perience, as  he  would  unroll  the  long  moving  picture  of  events 
that  he  had  seen,  and  part  of  which  he  was,  covering  a  period 
of  nine  decades.  Sons  and  daughters  that  were  left  to  him 
made  his  days  to  the  last  as  they  should  be.  *'He  was  a  good 
man  and  he  did  good  things." 

Vincennes  Sun — December  ii,  191 3 

To  live  to  be  nearly  a  hundred  is  certainly  a  great  distinc- 
tion and  honor.  For  what  does  it  signify?  Clearly  it  means 
right  living  in  all  that  pertains  to  abstention  from  the  things 
that  weaken  men  morally  and  physically,  and  shorten  their 
days  on  earth  and  their  usefulness  to  mankind  and  to  the  Crea- 
tor. Besides  it  exemplifies  to  others  the  possibilities  in  their 
own  lives.  What  he  had  done  others  might  do — live  a  cen- 
tury. To  live  a  century  as  Doctor  Wishard  did,  means  almost 
a  double  period  of  service,  for  the  average  activities  of  men 
are  rather  less  than  fifty  years.  And  Doctor  Wishard  was  a 
splendid  type  of  lofty  citizenship.  No  man  better  served  his 
day  and  generation.  He  was  born  with  the  state  of  Indiana 
in  1816.  It  was  given  to  him  to  live  through  the  formative 
period  of  the  commonwealth  and  to  lend  the  counsel  and  aid 
of  enlightened  citizenship  at  each  stage  of  its  progress  and 
growth.  In  peace  and  in  war  he  saw  and  participated  in  all 
the  phases   of   development   of   Indiana   and   of   the  United 


William  Henry  Wishaed  211 

States.  Born  at  the  close  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, he  beheld  the  struggles  incident  to  frontier  life  and  the 
subjugation  of  the  wilderness  and  the  domination  of  civiliza- 
tion ;  the  Mexican  war,  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  and  the  Span- 
ish-American war.  His  span  of  life  covered  the  period  in 
which  the  first  and  last  state  constitutions  were  adopted.  Sel- 
dom, indeed,  has  any  citizen  been  able  to  witness  so  many- 
stirring  and  important  events — and  his  intellect  enabled  him 
to  have  active  and  helpful  participation. 

Doctor  Wishard's  was  an  eventful  career,  nor  did  his  light 
shine  in  public  station  alone,  but  in  the  steady  undimmed  lus- 
ter of  good  citizenship  and  the  certain  attainments  of  a  noble 
profession. 

The  Journal  of  the  Indiatm  State  Medical  Association — 
January  15,  19 19 

In  this  number  of  The  Journal  we  publish  the  obituary 
notice  and  an  excellent  picture  of  the  late  Dr.  William  H. 
Wishard,  who  died  in  his  ninety-eighth  year  and  who  for  near- 
ly seventy-five  years  was  a  well-known  Indiana  physician  and 
the  last  survivor  of  the  charter  membership  of  the  Indiana 
State  Medical  Association. 

Doctor  Wishard  was  a  wonderful  man  in  more  ways  than 
one,  and  the  history  of  his  life  is  well  worth  careful  study  by 
the  younger  generation  of  physicians,  who  can  profit  from  the 
example  of  a  man  whose  life  was  singularly  successful  in  the 
accomplishment  of  many  things  worth  while  for  the  good  of 
humanity.  From  his  earliest  experiences  in  the  wilderness 
down  to  the  latter  years  of  his  life  spent  amid  comfortable 
surroundings  and  among  devoted  relatives  and  friends,  he  set 
an  example  of  professional  ability  and  integrity  which  the 
medical  profession  can  look  on  with  the  greatest  admiration. 


212  William  Henry  Wishard 

His  patriotism  was  shown  when  he  enlisted  his  services  in 
the  Civil  war,  and  his  public  spirit  was  manifested  in  numer- 
ous ways  by  his  identification  with  every  movement  for  the 
common  good.  His  character,  too,  was  such  as  to  merit  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  an  ever-enlarging  circle,  which  in- 
cluded men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  in  every  walk  of  life.  As 
one  of  his  friends  has  well  said:  "He  was  one  of  the  soundest, 
sweetest,  most  sincere,  direct  and  lovable  men,  and  he  was 
ever  young."  Possessed  of  a  wonderful  vigor  of  mind  and 
body,  he  continued  to  take  an  active  interest  in  men  and  affairs 
until  almost  the  last  few  days  of  his  fatal  illness,  and  those 
who  had  the  pleasure  of  a  short  visit  with  him,  even  during  the 
last  year  of  his  life,  marveled  at  the  almost  phenomenal  mem- 
ory and  mental  activity  of  one  who  nearly  reached  the  century 
mark  of  life. 

Doctor  Wishard  had  a  wide  acquaintance  with  not  only  all 
of  the  medical  men  of  the  state,  but  men  in  every  walk  of  life, 
and  especially  among  many  men  who  have  been  or  are  promi- 
nent in  the  state's  affairs.  He  had  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  all  of  the  governors  of  Indiana,  and  many  became  his  in- 
timate friends.  Because  of  his  unusual  physical  strength,  he 
continued  to  practice  medicine  until  he  was  ninety  years  of 
age,  and  he  was  well  up  in  the  eighties  when  he  drove  about 
and  personally  attended  many  of  his  patients. 

Doctor  Wishard  was  content  in  the  pleasure  of  doing  for 
others,  and  his  well-rounded  life  was  full  of  accomplishments 
that  make  the  world  and  the  people  living  in  it  better  for  his 
having  lived. 


MEDICAL  MEN  AND  MEDICAL  PRAC- 
TICE IN  THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF 
INDIANAPOLIS* 

IN  this  paper  I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  first  fifteen  years 
of  the  early  settlement  of  this  city,  from  1821  to  1836.  To 
judge  correctly  of  the  ability  and  worth  of  the  physicians,  we 
must  take  into  consideration  the  opportunities  they  may  have 
had  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  profession  and  the  remedial 
agents  that  were  in  use  in  those  days.  Prior  to  1817  there 
was  not  a  medical  college  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
and  but  one  medical  journal  in  the  United  States,  and  that  was 
published  at  Philadelphia.  The  laws  required  every  physi- 
cian to  be  licensed  by  a  board  of  medical  examiners.  The 
majority  of  our  best  practitioners  of  that  period  had  never 
seen  a  medical  college.  Such  were  the  opportunities  of  early 
physicians  of  this  place. 

Indianapolis  was  laid  out  in  a  very  dense  forest,  with  a 
heavy  undergrowth  of  spice  wood,  prickly  ash,  weeds  and 
grape  vines  that  made  it  impossible,  in  many  places,  for  a  man 
to  go  through  the  forest  on  horseback.  There  was  but  one 
road  opened  that  might  be  called  a  highway;  it  led  to 
Brookville,  Ind.  There  was  an  Indian  trail  from  Strawtown 
and  Connor's  Prairie  to  Vincennes,  known  as  the  Vincennes 
trail.  In  the  spring  of  1820  a  man  by  the  name  of  Berry  cut 
out  or  blazed  a  trace  along  what  is  now  the  Shelbyville  pike, 
passing  through  the  east  side  of  Johnson  county.  About 
1821  or  1822  there  was  a  wagon  road  opened  from  Columbus, 
Ind.,  known  as  the  Madison  road. 

Such  were  the  conditions  of  the  country  when  the  first  physi- 
cian,  Dr.   Samuel  G.   Mitchell,  came  to  Indianapolis,   April, 


•  Read  before  the  Marion  County  Medical  Society,  December  6,   1892,  and  ordered 
to  be  referred  to  the  State  Medical  Society. 

213 


214  William  Henry  Wishard 

1821.  He  came  from  Paris,  Bourbon  county,  Ky,  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  that  state.  He  was  a  licensed  practitioner,  and  had  never 
attended  a  course  of  lectures.  He  had  formerly  been  in  very 
independent  circumstances,  but  in  an  evil  hour  he  indorsed 
for  a  friend,  who  failed,  and  he  lost  his  home,  all  of  his  prop- 
erty and  was  reduced  to  poverty.  He  sought  a  home  in  the 
wilds  of  Indiana  in  the  prime  of  life  when  his  family  consisted 
of  a  wife  and  one  daughter.  He  built  a  log  house  on  the 
corner  of  Tennessee  and  Washington  streets,  where  the  Lor- 
raine building  now  stands.  Soon  after,  he  bought  a  lot  on 
the  northwest  comer  of  Washington  and  Meridian  streets, 
where  he  built  a  frame  house,  sixteen  by  eighteen  feet,  with  a 
shed  room  in  the  rear.  There  he  lived  and  kept  his  office.  He 
was  a  devoted  husband  and  father,  and  noted  for  his  hospi- 
tality and  generosity.  The  doctor  was  a  large  and  corpulent 
man.  He  had  such  a  burden  of  adipose  tissue  that  I  never 
knew  him  to  ride  faster  than  a  walk  or  a  slow,  shambling 
pace.  In  1832,  during  the  Black  Hawk  war,  there  were  five 
companies  of  mounted  riflemen  enlisted  here  to  scout  in  north- 
ern Indiana  and  Illinois.  The  battalion  was  commanded  by 
Col.  Alexander  Russel.  Doctor  Mitchell  was  appointed  sur- 
geon, and  Dr.  John  L.  Mothershead,  assistant  surgeon.  To 
enable  him  to  double-quick  on  horseback,  he  went  to  a  har- 
ness maker  and  had  a  leather  belt  made,  reaching  from  the 
sternum  to  the  pubes.  He  put  on  his  hunting  shirt,  then  his 
belt,  and  then  mounted  his  bay  horse,  that  was  proportionately 
as  large  as  the  rider.  I  can  see  him  now  as  he  rode  through 
the  camp,  which  was  located  on  the  north  side  of  Washington 
street  and  west  of  West  street. 

The  death  of  the  doctor's  wife  in  1829  and  daughter  a 
year  or  two  later  were  sorrows  from  which  he  never  recov- 
ered. In  1836  the  doctor  had  a  paralytic  stroke.  He  was 
poor  and  helpless.     His  friends  cared  for  him  as  best  they 


William  Henry  Wishard  215 

could.  During  the  doctor's  days  of  prosperity  in  Kentucky 
there  was  an  orphan  boy  in  the  neighborhood  by  the  name  of 
Palmer,  for  whom  the  doctor  provided  and  gave  him  a  liter- 
ary and  medical  education.  Young  Palmer  emigrated  to  Ohio, 
became  an  eminent  physician  and  prospered.  When  he  heard 
of  the  destitution  of  his  old  benefactor  he  sent  a  conveyance 
and  took  him  to  his  home,  and  cared  for  him  as  tenderly  as 
ever  a  devoted  son  cared  for  a  father.  Under  the  roof  of 
that  good  Samaritan  the  doctor  breathed  his  last  in  February, 
1837.  All  honor  to  Doctor  Palmer!  Such  was  the  life  and 
ending  of  the  first  physician  of  this  city  and  the  first  president 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  Indianapolis. 

Dr.  Isaac  Coe  was  the  second  physician  that  settled  here. 
He  arrived  in  May,  1821,  and  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
He  came  well  equipped  to  practice  his  profession,  bringing 
with  him  a  large  supply  of  Peruvian  bark  and  wine,  the  most 
reliable  agents  to  combat  chills  and  fever  at  that  date.  The 
doctor  first  settled  on  the  banks  of  Fall  Creek,  near  where  the 
City  Hospital  now  stands.  After  the  sale  of  lots  he  purchased 
a  lot  on  the  Circle  where  the  Columbia  Club  now  stands.  He 
was  living  on  Fall  Creek  in  1821,  that  memorable  year  of 
sickness  and  death.  There  was  not  one  well  person  in  ten,  in- 
cluding women  and  children.  Doctors  Mitchell,  Dunlap  and 
Scudder  were  all  sick.  Doctor  Coe  was  the  only  physician  able 
for  duty.  He  performed  well  his  part  as  physician,  nurse 
and  cook.  Doctor  Coe  could  be  seen  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and 
night  wending  his  way  from  cabin  to  cabin,  through  almost  an 
impenetrable  forest,  the  owls  hooting  and  the  wolves  serenad- 
ing him  in  his  lonely  walk,  and  the  rattlesnakes  shaking  their 
tails  every  few  rods  to  notify  him  that  they  were  on  the  war- 
path.    The  picture  is  not  overdrawn. 

During  August  and  September  the  mortality  was  great. 
Doctor  Coe  was  prematurely  gray.     Fearless,  conscientious 


216  William  Henry  Wishard 

and  a  devoted  Christian,  all  he  wanted  to  know  was  his  duty, 
and  he  would  brave  all  danger  to  do  it.  He  helped  to  organize 
the  first  church  and  Sunday  school  in  this  city  and  was  at 
the  head  of  all  benevolent  enterprises.  He  was  heroic  in  his 
treatment  of  diseases.  He  used  opium  extensively  in  the  treat- 
ment of  fever,  after  the  free  use  of  the  lancet,  emetics  and  ca- 
thartics. In  1837  he  was  one  of  the  Fund  Commissioners  of 
Indiana.  He  spent  much  of  his  time  in  Brooklyn  and  New 
York,  where  he  became  a  convert  to  homeopathy.  On  his  re- 
turn home  he  made  an  effort  to  practice  it,  but  never  succeeded 
in  doing  much  in  that  line  of  medicine.  After  the  death  of 
his  wife  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  the  northwest  with  his 
sons,  where  he  died.  His  remains  were  brought  here  and 
deposited  in  Crown  Hill  by  the  side  of  his  wife. 

Dr.  Livingston  Dunlap  came  from  Cherry  Valley,  N.  Y.,  in 
the  latter  part  of  July,  1821,  making  the  journey  on  horse- 
back. He  made  his  home  with  Doctor  Mitchell  and  became 
his  partner.  Mitchell  &  Dunlap  was  the  first  medical  firm 
of  this  city.  In  August  Doctor  Mitchell,  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter were  all  taken  down  with  bilious  fever ;  in  a  few  days  Doc- 
tor Dunlap  was  prostrated  by  the  same  malady  and  all  four 
were  confined  to  their  beds  in  a  small  log  cabin.  One  of  the 
neighbors  had  compassion  on  the  afflicted  household  and  took 
Doctor  Dunlap  on  his  back,  carried  him  to  his  home,  and 
cared  for  him  without  fee  or  reward.  That  little  incident 
made  them  fast  friends  for  life.  Doctor  Dunlap  had  a  high 
standing  as  a  physician  and  surgeon.  In  fact  he  was  the  only 
surgeon  until  1830,  when  Doctor  Sanders  came  to  divide  the 
laurels  with  him  in  that  field.  Doctor  Dunlap  did  not  graduate 
until  1830,  when  he  received  his  degree  at  Lexington,  Ky., 
from  the  Transylvania  Medical  College.  As  a  consulting 
physician  he  was  ever  in  demand  on  account  of  his  known  med- 
ical ability,  as  well  as  his  modest  and  gentlemanly  treatment 


William  Henry  Wishaed  217 

of  his  professional  brethren.  The  physician  that  held  a  con- 
sultation with  Doctor  Dunlap  was  a  wiser  man  afterward. 
While  the  doctor  had  a  large  practice,  he  was  a  close  student. 
The  doctor  was  elected  councilman  from  his  ward  in  1834  and 
served  for  several  years.  He  was  also  the  physician  of  the 
deaf  and  dumb  institution  for  several  years,  and  was  post- 
master from  1845  to  1849.  All  of  the  duties  of  the  different 
offices  he  held  he  discharged  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  the  public.  He  was  elected  professor  of 
theory-  and  practice  in  1849,  at  the  organization  of  the  first 
medical  college  of  our  city.  He  filled  the  chair  with  credit  to 
himself  and  profit  to  the  students.  At  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1862,  he  was  the  oldest  practitioner  in  the  city,  hav- 
ing been  in  practice  here  forty-one  years.  The  only  male  sur- 
vivor of  his  family  is  Dr.  John  M.  Dunlap,  of  our  city. 

Doctor  Scudder  came  to  Indianapolis  in  1821,  from  Ohio, 
about  the  same  time  Doctor  Dunlap  came.  He  was  a  brother 
of  Caleb  Scudder,  a  cabinet  maker,  who  made  the  first  coffin 
in  this  place.  I  had  but  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  doctor. 
He  was  a  quiet,  unassuming  man ;  he  had  a  good  practice,  was 
a  Christian  gentleman,  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  the  profession  and  the  public.  He  had  just  recovered  from 
an  attack  of  the  measles  when  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  take 
a  sleigh  ride  with  some  friends,  and  the  exposure  brought  on 
an  attack  of  pneumonia,  from  which  he  never  recovered.  He 
died  in  December,  1829.  His  death  was  a  loss  to  the  profes- 
sion and  to  the  community. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Cool  came  here  in  August,  1821,  when  every 
physician  was  sick  except  Doctor  Coe.  He  was  a  native  of 
New  Jersey  and  a  classmate  of  the  late  Judge  Blackford.  He 
graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class.  He  studied 
medicine  and  received  a  diploma  at  an  eastern  medical  college 
when  quite  young.    He  received  an  appointment  as  surgeon  in 


218  William  Henry  Wishard 

the  United  States  army,  and  for  some  time  was  stationed  at 
the  barracks  at  Newport,  Ky.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prom- 
ising young  men  in  the  profession;  a  perfect  gentleman.  He 
lived  with  his  mother  northeast  of  the  city,  where  he  died  in 
1840  and  sleeps  in  Greenlawn  cemetery. 

I  have  briefly  summed  up  the  character,  ability  and  ending 
of  the  first  five  physicians  that  located  in  this  city.  The  sick- 
ness and  fatality  of  1821  brought  this  place  into  such  dis- 
repute that  for  a  while  it  discouraged  emigration.  I  have  no 
knowledge  of  any  other  physician  coming  here  to  locate  until 
the  fall  of  1824,  when  the  state  offices  were  moved  from 
Corydon. 

Dr.  William  H.  Lilly  was  auditor  of  state.  He  came  here  in 
the  fall  of  1824.  About  the  same  time  Doctor  Jones  came 
here  from  Kentucky  and  they  formed  a  partnership.  They 
both  were  reputable  physicians.  Doctor  Jones  devoted  his 
whole  time  to  the  practice  of  medicine.  Doctor  Lilly  had  a 
deputy  who  performed  the  duties  of  auditor  of  state,  and  he 
spent  most  of  his  time  in  practicing.  Doctor  Jones  was  a 
large  man  of  fine  address  and  was  one  of  the  most  successful 
and  popular  physicians  that  ever  located  here.  Doctor  Lilly 
died  in  1829.  His  remains  rest  in  Greenlawn.  Doctor  Jones' 
wife  returned  to  Kentucky.  The  last  time  I  saw  Doctor  Jones, 
in  1839,  he  had  no  home  or  friends,  was  a  perfect  bloat,  filthy 
and  ragged.  But  woman's  fidelity  saved  him.  Mrs.  Jones 
induced  some  of  her  friends  to  come  after  the  doctor  and  he 
was  taken  back  to  Kentucky,  where  he  reformed  and  was  re- 
stored to  his  family.  In  1842  or  1843  I  heard  from  him,  and 
he  had  a  lucrative  practice  and  was  honored  and  respected  by 
the  community. 

In  the  spring  of  1826  Dr.  Henry  Ross  came  to  this  place 
from  Ohio.  He  was  a  young  man  of  fine  promise  and  soon 
gained  a  fine  practice  and  made  friends  wherever  he  went,  but 


William  Henry  Wishaed  219 

he  had  a  holy  horror  of  wolves,  panthers  and  rattlesnakes.  As 
the  doctors  had  to  ride  into  the  country  ten  to  fifteen  miles, 
and  many  of  the  roads  were  bridle-paths,  it  was  no  unusual 
thing  for  a  doctor  to  get  lost  and  have  to  spend  the  night  in 
the  saddle  or  up  a  sapling.  Such  nights  were  not  the  most 
pleasant.  The  music  was  varied  between  the  panthers,  wolves, 
owls  and  the  raccoon  fights.  Such  scenes  in  a  dark  and  lonely 
forest  were  often  the  lot  of  the  pioneer  doctors.  Doctor  Ross 
passed  a  few  such  nights,  when  he  became  disgusted  with  pio- 
neer life,  and,  after  passing  nineteen  months  here,  he  returned 
to  Ohio. 

Dr.  Charles  McDougle  came  here  in  1828  from  Ohio.  He 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother-in-law,  Doctor  Dunlap, 
who  had  married  his  sister.  The  firm  was  one  of  the  ablest, 
professionally,  in  the  city.  Doctor  McDougle  was  well  versed 
in  his  profession,  and  his  appearance  made  him  a  marked  man 
in  any  company.  In  1832  he  received  an  appointment  as  sur- 
geon in  the  United  States  army.  In  that  capacity  he  won  an 
enviable  reputation.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  at  Pitts- 
burg Landing,  where  he  was  medical  director  for  Grant's 
army.  He  was  then  an  old  man  and  his  hair  was  as  white  as 
the  driven  snow.  He  made  many  inquiries  about  Indianapolis, 
the  doctors  and  old  citizens,  and  spoke  of  the  pleasant  years 
that  he  spent  in  our  city.  Near  the  close  of  the  war  he  made 
his  home  in  Washington  city.  He  died  some  eight  years  since 
in  Virginia. 

Dr.  John  L.  Mothershead  was  a  native  of  Scott  county, 
Ky.  He  had  received  a  college  education  and  graduated  at 
Lexington,  Ky.,  from  the  Transylvania  Medical  College.  (Sul- 
grove,  in  his  history  of  Marion  county,  states  that  he  grad- 
uated at  Louisville,  Ky. ;  this  is  an  error.)  The  doctor  came 
here  in  1830,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Doctor  Mitch- 
ell.   He  graduated  previous  to  coming  here.    (The  University 


220  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  Louisville  graduated  the  first  class  in  the  spring  of  1838.) 
Doctor  Mothershead  was  a  modest  man,  a  careful  and  pains- 
taking practitioner.  It  was  said  that  if  ever  he  got  into  a  fam- 
ily he  held  them  against  all  odds.  He  soon  secured  a  large  and 
lucrative  practice.  His  first  partner  was  Doctor  Mitchell,  then 
Doctor  Sanders.  Prior  to  his  death  he  was  associated  with 
Doctor  Bullard  and  died  in  November,  1854.  At  his  death  he 
had  been  in  the  practice  longer  than  any  other  physician  ex- 
cept Doctor  Dunlap. 

Dr.  John  H.  Sanders  came  here  in  the  winter  of  1829  and 
1830.  He  was  born  in  Bourbon  county,  Ky.,  in  the  year  1791. 
At  that  time  the  country  was  a  wilderness.  Many  families 
lived  in  block  houses.  He  was  a  student  of  Dr.  Samuel  G. 
Mitchell,  at  Paris,  Ky.  In  the  fall  of  1819  he  went  to  Phila- 
delphia to  attend  his  first  course  in  medicine,  making  the  jour- 
ney on  horseback.  On  his  return,  in  1820,  he  settled  in  Mil- 
lersburg,  in  the  county  where  he  was  born,  and  took  the  lead  in 
surgery.  Soon  after  his  return  in  1820  he  performed  the  first 
amputation  of  the  leg  that  ever  was  performed  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  I  was  born,  near  Carlisle,  Ky.  He  per- 
formed all  the  surgical  operations  for  Bourbon  and  the  ad- 
joining counties.  In  1823  he  graduated  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  at 
the  old  Transylvania  Medical  College.  Dr.  Benjamin  Dud- 
ley, the  greatest  lithotomist  in  the  west,  if  not  in  the  United 
States,  then  filled  the  chair  of  surgery.  In  1824  or  1825  Doc- 
tor Sanders  moved  to  New  Castle,  Henry  county,  Ky.,  where 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Doctor  Drenon,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing physicians  of  that  place.  He  remained  there  until  the  win- 
ter of  1829  or  1830,  when  he  removed  to  Indianapolis;  later 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  John  L.  Mothershead.  In 
1839  he  removed  to  the  Ozark  mountains,  near  Springfield, 
Mo.,  but  in  1841  returned  and  soon  after  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Doctor  Parry,  of  this  city.    He  remained  here  until 


WiLLLAJM  Henry  Wishard  221 

his  death  from  cholera,  which  occurred  April  4,  1850,  on  board 
a  steamer  on  the  Mississippi  river.  Doctor  Sanders  was  tall 
and  commanding  in  his  appearance,  and  was  the  highest  type 
of  a  Christian  gentleman.  As  a  husband  and  father  he  had 
no  peer.  His  moral  character  was  without  spot  or  blemish 
and  he  ever  commanded  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  He 
was  true  to  his  friends  and  as  tender-hearted  as  a  child.  The 
following  occurrence,  as  related  to  me  by  an  eye-witness,  will 
exemplify  his  true  character:  The  doctor  and  his  partner, 
Doctor  Drenon,  were  attending  a  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Watkins,  who  was  given  up  to  die.  They  mounted  their 
horses,  and  as  they  passed  down  the  lane  speaking  of  the  case, 
Sanders  wept  like  a  child;  Drenon  chided  him  for  his  weak- 
ness, using  very  profane  language.  Doctor  Sanders  replied 
it  was  a  calamity  to  see  such  a  young  man  cut  down  in  his 
youth,  and  a  great  sorrow  to  his  parents.  In  that  neighbor- 
hood Sanders  stock  went  up  and  Drenon  stock  down.  His 
last  partner  prior  to  his  death  was  Dr.  P.  H.  Jameson,  of  this 
city. 

Dr.  George  W.  Mears,  a  graduate  of  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege, came  to  this  state  from  Philadelphia,  and  first  settled  at 
Vincennes,  remaining  there  two  or  three  years.  He  removed 
to  this  city  in  February,  1834.  Doctor  Mears  was  a  Na- 
poleon in  the  practice  of  medicine;  he  never  surrendered  or 
acknowledged  that  he  was  defeated  in  medical  practice.  He 
was  thoroughly  equipped  with  an  iron  constitution  and  an  in- 
flexible will ;  faced  more  midnight  storms  and  traveled  over 
more  corduroy  roads  than  the  average  physician  of  his  day. 
He  commanded  a  large  practice  in  this  and  the  adjoining  coun- 
ties and  was  professor  of  obstetrics  in  the  first  medical  college 
of  this  city,  organized  in  1849,  and  continued  professor  in  that 
chair  during  the  existence  of  the  college.  In  1869  the  Indiana 
Medical  College  was  organized  and  he  was  elected  to  the  chair 


222  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  obstetrics  and  filled  that  position  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1879.  Doctor  Mears  was  an  able  practitioner  of 
medicine  and  obstetrics,  and  in  that  department  he  com- 
manded the  confidence  of  the  public  and  especially  of  the  pro- 
fession. In  1836  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  John  L. 
Richmond,  and  in  1838  Dr.  Cory  don  Richmond  was  associ- 
ated with  them.  The  firm  was  Richmond,  Mears  and  Rich- 
mond, a  strong  and  efficient  firm.  The  partnership  continued 
until  the  fall  of  1840.  In  1846  Doctor  Mears  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Doctor  Bullard,  which  was  continued  until  about 
1855,  and  after  that  he  had  no  partner.  His  death  made  a 
void  in  the  profession  which  was  hard  to  fill.  His  son,  Doctor 
Ewing  Mears,  is  a  leading  surgeon  of  Philadelphia  and  one 
of  the  professors  of  Jefferson  Medical  College. 

The  name  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Richmond  should  be  an  inspiration 
to  every  young  man.  He  was  born  in  the  old  Bay  State  April 
5,  1785,  a  native  Yankee.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm; 
later  his  father  moved  to  the  state  of  New  York.  He  never 
had  but  twelve  days'  schooling  in  his  life.  His  education  was 
obtained  by  his  own  efforts  and  those  of  his  mother.  He  ob- 
tained what  books  he  could  with  money  earned  by  chopping 
cordwood  at  the  Onondaga  salt  works,  then  learned  his  les- 
sons at  night  by  the  light  of  a  burning  pine  knot,  after  a  hard 
day's  work.  The  labor  of  studying  and  thinking  gave  him  an 
unusual  mental  drill  for  one  of  his  opportunities.  When  quite 
a  young  man  he  joined  the  Baptist  church,  and  soon  after  was 
ordained  as  a  minister  in  that  church.  He  was  married  in  his 
twenty-first  year.  In  June,  1817,  in  company  with  his  father's 
family,  he  started  for  the  far  west  in  wagons.  When  they 
came  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Alleghany  river  they 
built  a  flatboat  and  came  down  the  river  to  near  Cincinnati, 
where  he  taught  school  and  preached  in  a  Baptist  church. 
The  doctor  had  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  some 


William  Henry  Wishard  223 

neighboring  physician  before  he  left  the  state  of  New  York. 
In  the  spring  of  1818  he  moved  to  Newtown,  ten  miles  east  of 
Cincinnati.  He  graduated  in  medicine  at  the  Ohio  Medical 
College  in  the  spring  of  1822,  and  practiced  at  Newtown  for 
several  years.  In  1824*  he  performed  the  Caesarean  section, 
the  first  operation  of  the  kind  ever  performed  west  of  the 
mountains,  if  not  in  the  United  States.  He  was  called  to  see 
a  woman  confined  with  an  illegitimate  child  who  was  being 
treated  by  a  midwife  and  w^as  very  much  exhausted.  He 
found  a  deformed  pelvis,  and  was  unable  to  deliver  her  in  the 
natural  w-ay.  With  a  pocket-case  of  instruments  and  the  aid 
of  the  woman,  by  candle-light,  he  operated  and  saved  the 
woman's  life.  Soon  after  he  reported  the  case  in  the  Cincin- 
nati Journal  of  Medicine,  and  was  sharply  criticized  for  per- 
forming the  operation.  How  very  conservative  surgeons  were 
in  that  day!  In  1826  he  removed  to  Cincinnati  and  remained 
there,  practicing  until  the  year  the  cholera  prevailed  in  that 
city,  when  he  was  stricken  with  the  cholera.  His  health  was 
so  impaired  that  he  removed  to  Pendleton,  Ind.  He  remained 
there  two  or  three  years,  when  he  removed  to  this  city  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine,  also  preaching  for  the 
First  Baptist  church.  He  finally  gave  up  the  care  of  the 
church  and  devoted  his  whole  time  to  the  practice  of  medicine. 
In  1836  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Doctor  Mears.  His 
son,  Corydon  Richmond,  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  Medical  Col- 
lege, came  here  from  Pendleton  and  became  a  partner  with 
Doctor  Mears  and  his  father.  (Let  me  here  say  that  Dr. 
Corydon  Richmond,  now  of  Kokomo,  is  the  only  surviving 
doctor  of  this  city  or  county  who  was  engaged  in  the  profession 
when  I  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  April,  1840.) 


•  Later  investigation  proved  that  father  was  misinformed  as  to  the  date  of  the  op- 
eration. It  occurred  in  1827.  See  Western  Journal  of  Medical  and  Physical  Sciences, 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  vol.  3,  p.  435.    Published  1830. 


224  William  Henry  Wishard 

In  the  fall  of  1842,  while  visiting  a  patient,  Dr.  J.  L.  Rich- 
mond was  stricken  with  paralysis.  He  was  conveyed  to  his 
home  in  a  helpless  condition.  His  recovery  was  very  doubt- 
ful for  many  weeks ;  his  speech  finally  returned,  but  he  never 
regained  the  use  of  his  side.  Being  thus  disabled  he  sold  his 
property  on  South  Meridian  street,  went  to  Covington,  Foun- 
tain county,  Indiana,  and  made  his  home  with  his  son-in-law, 
Albert  Henderson,  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  October, 
1855.  He  sleeps  in  the  cemetery  at  Covington,  Ind.,  by  the 
side  of  his  faithful  and  loving  wife,  who  died  one  year  before 
he  did. 

From  1836  to  1840  there  was  quite  an  influx  of  doctors  into 
this  city,  men  of  ability  and  professional  standing.  Among 
the  number  were  Dr.  John  S.  Bobbs,  Dr.  Charles  Parry,  Dr. 
A.  A.  Ackley,  and  many  others.  As  this  paper  covers  only 
the  first  fifteen  years  of  the  early  settlement  of  this  city  I  will 
leave  the  history  of  their  lives  and  work  to  a  more  competent 
historian.  I  will  only  add  that  the  medical  men  of  Indian- 
apolis have  always  taken  a  high  rank  in  their  profession,  and 
today  they  compare  favorably  with  those  of  any  city  of  equal 
size  in  the  Union  as  physicians  and  surgeons. 


MEDICAL  RETROSPECT  OF  FIFTY 
YEARS* 

Gentlemen  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Society  : 

There  are  periods  in  every  man's  life  and  the  life  of  every 
association  when  duty  and  wisdom  demand  that  we  should  stop 
and  compare  the  present  with  the  past.  Then  will  we  be  able 
to  judge  correctly  of  what  we  have  accomplished. 

The  last  half  century  has  been  one  of  unparalleled  progress 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  particularly  that  of  our  own 
country.  The  development  and  growth  in  science,  literature, 
the  arts,  commerce,  manufacturing  and  agricultural  interests, 
and  in  fact  everything  which  points  to  a  higher  civilization, 
have  been  accomplished  with  a  rapidity  and  certainty  for  the 
good  of  the  human  race  of  today  that  has  far  surpassed  the 
hopes  of  our  most  sanguine  forefathers. 

The  great  question  that  confronts  us  today  as  medical  men 
is,  have  we  kept  abreast  with  the  advancing  column  that  is  so 
speedily  lifting  our  nation  in  this  age  and  generation  to  a 
higher  standard  of  civilization  and  prosperity?  I  know  no 
better  time  to  ask  and  answer  this  question  than  now,  this  be- 
ing the  fortieth  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  Indiana 
State  Medical  Society.  In  this  brief  address  I  shall  try  to  an- 
swer it  in  the  affirmative. 

Men  are,  as  a  rule,  held  responsible  to  society  for  their  use- 
fulness in  the  ratio  of  their  opportunities.  The  pioneer  doc- 
tors of  Indiana  had  very  little  opportunity  to  obtain  either  a 
literary  or  medical  education  for  various  reasons.  Knowledge 
and  education  were  not  sown  broadcast  as  they  are  today. 
The  common  schools  were  primitive  in  their  character,  noth- 


•  President's  address,  delivered   before   the    Indiana   State   Medical    Society  at   the 
fortieth  anniversary  of  the  organization,  May  1,   1889. 

225 


226  William  Henry  Wishard 

ing  but  the  English  branches  being  taught,  and  those  to  a 
Hmited  extent.  The  circumstances  of  the  early  settlers  were 
such  that  few,  if  any,  had  the  means  to  send  their  sons  or 
daughters  to  a  more  favored  community  to  obtain  an  educa- 
tion. There  was  not  one  county  in  ten,  sixty  or  sixty-five 
years  ago,  that  had  schools  of  a  higher  order  than  the  com- 
mon subscription  schools,  taught  for  three  or  four  months  in 
the  year. 

Let  us  look  at  the  opportunities  given  for  a  medical  edu- 
cation. After  two  or  three  abortive  attempts  to  establish  a 
medical  school  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  the  Medical  Department  of 
the  Transylvania  University  was  organized,  in  the  year  1817, 
with  five  professors — Doctors  Dudley,  Drake,  Richardson, 
Overton  and  Blythe,  with  Doctor  Rogers  as  adjunct  to  the 
chair  of  anatomy.  A  full  course  of  lectures  was  delivered  by 
each  professor.  At  the  close  of  the  term  in  the  spring  of  1818, 
with  a  class  of  twenty-one,  there  was  but  one  graduate,  John 
L.  McCullough  being  the  first  graduate  of  medicine  west  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains.  This  was  seventy-one  years  ago. 
During  the  first  session  feuds  had  grown  up  among  the  pro- 
fessors, and  at  the  end  of  it  the  faculty  was  dissolved.  Doctor 
Drake  returning  to  Cincinnati,  and  Doctor  Overton  removing 
to  Nashville.  One  year  passed  without  an  efifort  to  reorgan- 
ize the  medical  department.  In  the  summer  of  1819,  however, 
they  did  reorganize,  and  a  second  course  of  lectures  was  de- 
livered in  the  winter  of  1819-20.  The  only  school  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi  began  with  thirty-seven  students,  but 
by  the  seventh  year  it  had  increased  until  it  numbered  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty,  being  the  second  medical  school  in  impor- 
tance and  numbers  in  the  United  States,  and  for  twenty-five 
years  it  enjoyed  a  career  of  uninterrupted  prosperity.  Doc- 
tor Drake  returned  as  a  teacher  in  1823.  Benjamin  Dudley 
had  a  national  reputation  as  a  lithotomist. 


William  Henry  Wishard  227 

The  Ohio  Medical  College  with  a  small  beginning,  gradu- 
ated its  first  class  in  1821. 

The  Transylvania  and  Ohio  Medical  Colleges  were  the  only 
ones  in  the  west  until  1837. 

In  the  winter  of  1837-38,  the  first  course  of  lectures  was 
delivered  at  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Louisville. 

Transylvania  had  received  its  greatest  patronage  from  the 
southern  states,  which  put  those  states  far  in  advance  of  the 
northwest  in  medical  education. 

You  will  see  from  these  statements  that  those  who  were  the 
preceptors  of  the  medical  students,  fifty  and  sixty  years  ago, 
had  very  little  opportunity  to  become  proficient  in  their  pro- 
fession. 

From  the  best  statistics  I  can  obtain,  not  ten  per  cent  of  the 
physicians  of  Indiana  were  graduates  in  1825,  and  not  to  ex- 
ceed twenty-five  or  thirty  per  cent  had  ever  attended  one 
course  of  lectures. 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell,  of  Danville,  Ky., 
was  not  a  graduate  of  medicine;  he  attended  one  course  of 
lectures  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  returned  to  Kentucky  in  1793, 
and  in  1809  performed  the  first  operation  for  the  removal 
of  an  ovarian  tumor  that  had  ever  been  performed  in  the 
world.  His  reputation  as  a  surgeon  prior  to  this  time  gave 
him  all  of  the  important  surgery  within  two  or  three  hundred 
miles  of  his  locality  until  the  return  of  Doctor  Dudley  from 
Europe. 

In  1825  the  Honorary  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  was 
conferred  upon  Doctor  McDowell  by  the  University  of  Mary- 
land, after  thirty  years  of  practice  and  with  a  national  repu- 
tation. When  a  doctor  was  accused  of  being  a  one-course 
student,  his  answer  invariably  would  be  "so  was  Doctor  Mc- 
Dowell." 


228  William  Henry  Wishard 

Some  of  the  most  successful  practitioners  had  never  heard 
a  medical  lecture  delivered  in  a  medical  college. 

They  did  private  dissecting  and  pursued  their  studies  under 
the  most  eminent  physicians  of  the  country. 

The  literature  of  the  profession  was  limited;  there  was  but 
one  medical  journal  in  the  United  States  in  the  early  part  of 
this  century,  the  Medical  Repository,  published  at  Philadel- 
phia, then  the  medical  Mecca  of  America. 

If  a  medical  student  of  today  were  to  read  the  text-books 
published  prior  to  the  publications  of  Dr.  John  Eberly,  he 
would  conclude  that  the  profession  was  just  emerging  from  the 
dark  ages. 

But  we  must  remember  that  the  physicians  of  the  first  twen- 
ty-five years  of  this  century  were  diligent  laborers  in  their  pro- 
fession, and  had  evolved  much  light  where  darkness  had  pre- 
vailed in  physiology,  pathology,  materia  medica  and  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  and  surgery. 

The  three  great  professions,  medicine,  law  and  theology, 
suffered  equally  for  want  of  educational  advantages,  yet  each 
in  their  day  produced  bright  and  shining  lights  that  were  an 
honor  to  their  calling.  The  practice  of  medicine  today  differs 
widely  from  that  of  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago.  First:  the  cus- 
toms and  habits  of  the  people  were  essentially  different.  Sec- 
ond :  the  diseases  were  not  of  the  same  type,  the  mode  of  treat- 
ment in  the  majority  of  cases  being  directly  opposed  to  what 
would  be  used  now.  Third :  the  class  of  therapeutic  agents 
used  was  limited  compared  with  those  given  by  the  practi- 
tioner of  today. 

The  pioneers  who  sought  homes  in  the  wilderness  were  a 
bold  and  self-reliant  people,  both  the  men  and  the  women. 
They  had  counted  the  cost  and  came  to  stay  and  build  homes 
for  themselves  and  families.  They  were  men  who  had  force 
of  character,  strong  convictions  and  the  courage  to  stand  by 


William  Henry  Wishaed  229 

them.  They  were  prepared  to  fell  the  forest  and  overcome  all 
obstacles.  They  came  from  the  east  and  south,  bringing  with 
them  the  social  and  moral  habits  and  tastes  peculiar  to  their 
native  states.  Society  was  not  homogeneous  as  at  present  in 
the  rural  districts. 

Their  hospitality  and  fidelity  to  each  other  in  time  of  need 
was  deserving  of  all  praise.  They  would  look  after  sick  neigh- 
bors at  great  personal  sacrifice. 

The  physician  who  ^.vould  not  answer  a  call  promptly,  night 
or  day,  pleasant  or  unpleasant,  as  it  might  be,  so  long  as  he 
w^as  able  to  sit  on  his  horse,  was  considered  unworthy  of  their 
confidence  or  patronage. 

You  may  think  they  were  exacting,  but  they  would  do  the 
same  for  each  other  without  compensation.  The  physician 
was  working  for  pay  and  they  for  friendship  without  pay. 

The  man  who  would  charge  his  neighbor  for  nursing  him 
when  sick,  or  aiding  him  when  in  need,  was  ostracised. 

Instead  of  having  one  or  two  nurses  for  your  patient,  you 
would  have  half  a  dozen,  if  there  were  that  many  strong  men 
and  women  in  the  community.  And  yet  when  the  autumnal 
sickness  set  in  they  were  very  scarce. 

The  obstetrical  practice  was  all  in  the  hands  of  women;  ne- 
cessity seemed  to  require  it.  The  physicians  were  few  and 
far  between,  and  there  was  a  strong  prejudice  against  them  in 
many  cases.  Obstetrical  practice  was  less  difficult  and  compli- 
cated than  at  present ;  the  constitutions  of  the  pioneer  women 
were  so  vigorous  that  nature  completed  her  work  with  little 
assistance. 

Such  an  occasion  was  a  general  holiday.  Every  able-bodied 
woman  in  the  neighborhood  was  summoned  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  the  conflict,  with  little  regard  for  distance,  condition 
of  the  weather,  roads  or  the  age  of  her  youngest  child.  Not  to 
be  invited  to  an  entertainment  of  this  kind  was  an  offense  not 


230  William  Henry  Wishard 

easily  forgiven.  Should  the  case  be  one  that  baffled  the  skill 
of  the  midwife,  from  the  character  of  the  presentation,  or  any 
other  cause,  and  a  physician  had  to  be  called,  the  news  spread 
with  the  rapidity  of  a  prairie  fire,  and  when  he  arrived  the 
congregation  was  large  enough  for  a  funeral  or  a  "quarterly 
meeting."  The  gathering  was  not  made  up  of  one  sex  only; 
the  men  were  around  on  the  border  doing  picket  duty,  and 
ready  for  emergencies.  The  modem  doctor  may  think  the 
picture  overdrawn,  but  the  half  has  not  been  told.  I  will  give 
one  of  many  cases  that  came  under  my  own  observation: 

Forty-seven  years  ago  I  was  summoned  to  the  bedside  of  a 
woman  who  had  been  in  labor  eighteen  hours.  It  was  a  case 
of  arm  and  shoulder  presentation,  and  the  midwife  had  kept 
the  grave  nature  of  the  case  concealed  from  the  friends, 
hoping  that  something  would  come  about  that  she  might  be 
able  to  deliver  the  woman  without  the  aid  of  a  physician.  At 
last  she  was  compelled  to  report  the  alarming  symptoms  of  the 
case,  and  it  soon  became  known  that  professional  aid  was  sent 
for,  although  the  night  was  cold  and  a  terrific  snow  storm 
was  prevailing.  When  I  arrived  I  found  the  family  living  in  a 
log  cabin,  fourteen  by  sixteen  feet,  and  there  were  present  to 
render  aid  and  sympathy  twelve  women  and  four  or  five  chil- 
dren with  the  sick  woman  and  her  husband.  We  had  standing 
room  only.  It  was  no  idle  curiosity  that  brought  them  to- 
gether ;  it  was  the  custom,  and  considered  a  conscientious  duty 
to  an  afflicted  neighbor.  To  have  but  a  half  dozen  present  on 
such  an  occasion  was  considered  a  small  and  select  company. 

A  strong  prejudice  existed  against  a  physician  as  an  obste- 
trician. Every  word  and  act  of  his  was  closely  studied,  and  if 
his  treatment  of  the  woman  or  directions  as  to  dressing  the 
child,  and  especially  as  to  how  to  put  up  the  umbilical  cord, 
was  not  in  harmony  with  the  teaching  of  some  venerated  old 
midwife,  his  reputation  suffered. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  231 

I  have  known  good  physicians  to  lose  caste  by  ridicuHng  the 
mode  of  treating  women  and  infants  in  unimportant  matters 
as  taught  by  the  old  women,  and  never  to  regain  their 
standing  in  the  neighborhood.  It  is  said  that  women  rule  the 
nation.  We  older  physicians  have  long  since  learned  the  fact 
that  they  rule  the  destiny  of  that  portion  of  the  nation  called 
doctors,  and  the  sooner  the  young  physicians  recognize  this 
fact  and  deport  themselves  accordingly,  the  better  it  will  be  for 
them. 

I  had  several  experiences  in  early  life  that  convinced  me  that 
the  public  was  not  in  sympathy  with  a  struggling  medical  stu- 
dent. A  few  families  of  the  red  men  lingered  on  the  hunting 
grounds  of  their  fathers  long  after  the  majority  of  the  tribe 
had  emigrated.  They  were  camped  near  my  early  home,  ten 
miles  south  of  this  city,  on  the  banks  of  White  river.  They 
wanted  to  enjoy  Christmas  after  the  manner  of  their  pale-faced 
neighbors,  and  accordingly  procured  a  good  supply  of  fire 
water.  They  imbibed  to  the  full  extent  of  their  capacity,  and 
one  of  the  men  got  so  hot  he  thought  he  would  cool  off  by 
swimming  the  river.  He  was  so  thoroughly  cooled  that  he 
found  a  watery  grave.  His  squaw,  in  an  effort  to  roast  ven- 
ison, roasted  herself,  and  then  followed  a  season  of  great 
mourning.  The  sorrowing  friends  consigned  the  unfortu- 
nate victims  to  the  last  Indian  grave  ever  dug  in  that  vicinity, 
and  after  protecting  them  well  with  slabs  took  their  departure. 

In  the  spring  of  1838,  after  reading  chemistry  and  materia 
medica,  I  wished  to  take  up  anatomy,  and  as  I  had  no  skeleton 
my  thoughts  turned  to  those  Indian  graves.  Accompanied  by 
a  friend,  and  equipped  with  two  sacks  and  a  spade,  I  started 
on  my  errand  and  soon  had  two  skeletons  in  a  reasonably  good 
state  of  preservation. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  grand  jury  in  Johnson  county  a 
vigorous  effort  was  made  to  indict  me  for  bringing  about  a 


232  William  Henry  Wishaed 

premature  resurrection  of  two  Indians,  "in  violation  of  the 
statute  as  therein  provided."  But  fortunately  for  me  there 
was  an  insurmountable  obstacle  in  the  way,  as  the  names  of  the 
resurrected  Indians  could  not  be  obtained.  I  was  somewhat 
alarmed,  and  have  ever  since  "fought  shy"  of  a  graveyard. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  class  of  diseases. 

The  first  settlements  were  made  along  the  water  courses,  the 
land  was  very  fertile  and  easily  tilled,  and  we  looked  forward 
to  our  autumnal  sickness  as  much  as  we  did  to  seed  time  and 
harvest,  and  the  prudent  man  prepared  for  it  by  doing  his 
work  in  advance,  and  by  laying  in  his  supply  of  medicines, 
which  usually  consisted  of  tartar  emetic,  calomel,  rhubarb, 
aloes  or  jalap  and  epsom  salts  or  castor  oil. 

It  was  not  expected  that  a  physician  would  be  called  until 
the  resources  of  the  neighbors  were  exhausted.  Every  neigh- 
borhood had  some  one  who  could  bleed,  extract  teeth,  and 
"dose  out  doctor's  medicine,"  as  they  called  it,  also  some  old 
aunt  who  treated  the  women  and  children  and  had  a  list  of  do- 
mestic remedies  that  she  obtained  from  the  forest  and  garden. 
When  she  spoke  of  their  virtues  and  adaptation  to  the  various 
diseases  of  her  specialties,  the  doctor  who  failed  to  know  as 
much  about  her  remedial  agents  as  she  did,  had  no  standing 
in  her  estimation.  Although  she  was  a  strange  compound  of 
superstition,  ignorance  and  wisdom,  her  influence  was  marked. 
The  early  settlers  were  exempt  from  some  of  the  most  for- 
midable diseases  we  now  have  to  combat,  notably  tuberculosis, 
diphtheria  and  cerebro-spinal  meningitis.  None  but  the  strong 
and  vigorous  ventured  to  the  frontier,  knowing  the  hardships 
that  awaited  them,  and  as  a  class  they  were  free  from  any 
constitutional  diseases.  Their  mode  of  living  in  log  cabins 
with  open  fireplaces  and  a  good  supply  of  oxygen,  and  their 
plain  and  nutritious  diet  were  well  calculated  to  counteract  any 
tubercular  tendency. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  233 

Diphtheria  as  a  distinctive  disease  was  unknown  to  the  early 
practitioners.  Eberle's  Practice,  pubHshed  as  late  as  1845, 
gives  no  account  of  the  disease. 

Cerebro-spinal  meningitis  was  equally  a  stranger,  though  it 
was  not  unusual  to  have  a  case  of  phrenitis,  as  called  by  the 
older  authors,  but  now  termed  meningitis. 

The  various  forms  of  fever  produced  by  miasma,  malaria,  or 
marsh  miasmata,  as  it  was  called  by  different  authors,  were 
multitudinous  from  the  shaking  ague  chill  and  fever,  or  inter- 
mittent, to  the  various  types  with  remittent  congestive  and 
pernicious  intermittent  and  congestive. 

Authors  differed  somewhat  in  their  classification,  but  they 
were  all  recognized  as  autumnal  diseases.  In  the  winter  sea- 
son pleurisy  and  pneumonia  prevailed,  often  complicated  with 
hepatic  disorders. 

There  was  a  disease  called  quick  consumption,  the  sequel  of 
repeated  attacks  of  pneumonia  or  pleurisy  breaking  down  the 
lung  tissue. 

This  was  a  fruitful  field  for  quack  doctors  to  try  their  skill 
in  curing  consumption. 

But  few  cases  of  intermittent  fever  were  treated  by  the  doc- 
tors. It  was  only  in  the  persistent  forms  of  remittent  and  con- 
gestive fever  where  medical  aid  was  summoned,  and  then  not 
until  family  medication  had  been  exhausted,  by  taking  the  pa- 
tient through  a  course  of  emetics,  bleeding  and  cathartics. 
Unless  it  was  a  case,  well  marked,  of  congestive  or  pernicious 
fever,  the  doctor  was  not  called  until  the  fifth  or  sixth  day; 
after  the  patient  had  been  treated  vigorously  by  the  three  great 
depletory  processes — emetics,  cathartics  and  blood-letting.  The 
exhausted  condition  of  the  patient  or  possibly  the  intestinal 
disturbance  caused  by  the  too  free  use  of  cathartics  would 
produce  a  condition  which  would  demand  the  use  of  opiates 
and  blisters  by  the  physician,  and  the  last  state  of  that  patient 


234  William  Henry  Wishard 

was  worse  than  the  first.  The  principal  business  of  the  doctor 
was  deahng  in  second-hand  goods,  and  a  bad  quahty  at  that. 

For  a  patient  to  consult  a  physician  when  he  was  first  taken 
ill  was  an  anomaly  in  medicine,  and  a  useless  expenditure  of 
time  and  money.  Four-fifths  of  the  fatal  cases  were  second- 
hand, but  the  doctor  was  responsible  for  the  result,  as  he  had 
the  last  chance. 

I  will  not  go  into  details  in  treating  the  remittent  fevers.  A 
favorite  prescription  was  "ten  and  ten"  as  a  purgative — ten 
grains  calomel,  ten  grains  jalap — given  every  six  hours  until 
it  produced  free  purgation,  then  the  dose  was  lessened,  but 
continued  until  it  produced  a  slight  ptyalism.  If  the  case  was  of 
an  inflammatory  type,  nauseating  doses  of  tartar  emetic  were 
given  to  reduce  the  fever.  If  it  produced  watery  stools,  the 
bowels  were  restrained  with  laudanum  or  opium. 

To  reduce  fever,  sweet  spirits  niter,  or  nitrate  of  potash  was 
given.  Cold  water  was  prohibited.  The  maxim  was,  feed  a 
cold  and  starve  a  fever.  The  tonics  consisted  of  Peruvian 
bark,  Huxham's  tincture  of  bark,  or  an  infusion  of  quassia. 
Tonics  were  always  withheld  until  the  fever  was  broken. 

Quinine  was  rarely  used  and  was  considered  an  uncertain 
and  unsafe  article.  I  remember  well  the  first  time  it  was  used 
in  my  father's  family,  in  the  autumn  of  1828.  We  were  suf- 
fering with  malarial  fever,  and  had  used  about  half  a  pound  of 
Peruvian  bark,  and  bitters  of  every  kind  and  quality  known, 
yet  the  chills  would  return  every  seventh  or  fourteenth  day. 
My  father  sent  me  to  Indianapolis  to  a  physician  to  get  medi- 
cine to  prevent  the  relapse  of  the  chills.  The  prescription  con- 
sisted of  thirty  grains  quinine,  ten  drops  sulphuric  acid,  and 
six  ounces  water;  dose,  one  teaspoonful  three  or  four  times  a 
day,  to  be  taken  with  great  care. 

Blood  letting  was  an  indispensable  remedial  agent,  and 
when  wisely  used  by  an  intelligent  physician  was  a  power  for 


William  Henry  Wishard  235 

good  and  saved  many  valuable  lives.  It  was  only  used  in  cer- 
tain forms  of  intermittent  and  congestive  fevers.  In  the  first 
stages  of  pleurisy  and  pneumonia  it  was  the  sheet  anchor,  fol- 
lowed with  judicious  medication. 

I  admit  that  the  laity  bled  indiscriminately  and  unwisely, 
making  no  distinction.  Fever  was  fever,  and  if  it  was  good 
in  one  case,  why  was  it  not  good  in  all  cases? 

I  have  seen  an  old  thumb  lancet  that  was  an  heirloom  in  the 
family.  It  had  drawn  blood  from  the  grandfather  and  father, 
and  was  doing  duty  for  the  grandchildren.  That  one  in- 
strument had  drawn  more  blood  than  was  spilled  by  some  regi- 
ments in  the  late  war.  It  was  not  unusual  for  many  per- 
sons to  be  bled  every  spring.  They  had  the  superstitious  be- 
lief that  their  blood  was  too  thick,  and  that  the  old  blood  had 
to  be  drawn  off  to  give  room  for  a  new  and  better  article. 

I  have  seen  arms  so  scarred  by  repeated  bleeding  that  you 
could  scarcely  locate  the  vein  to  bleed  from.  Another  super- 
stitious notion  that  possessed  the  laity  was  that  if  you  bled  a 
patient  in  the  right  arm  when  the  pain  was  in  the  left  side,  it 
would  draw  the  pain  across  his  heart,  and  death  would  be  the 
result  sooner  or  later. 

The  physician  that  made  such  a  mistake  was  taking  an  un- 
warranted risk,  and  should  the  patient  die,  he  was  held  re- 
sponsible for  his  death. 

By  1840  there  was  great  improvement  in  the  treatment  of 
fevers.  Quinine  was  used  more  extensively  in  intermittent 
fever,  but  not  in  remittent.  In  1841  the  State  Medical  Society 
of  Tennessee  offered  a  reward  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  the 
best  essay  on  the  treatment  of  fevers.  It  was  awarded  to  Dr. 
Lunsford  P.  Yandell,  of  the  Louisville  Medical  College,  and 
published  in  the  Western  Medical  Journal  of  that  city.  I  was 
taking  that  journal  and  read  and  re-read  his  article.  He  rec- 
ommended the  abortive  treatment  of  bilious  fever  by  the  use 


236  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  a  cathartic  or  an  emeto-cathartic,  and  the  free  use  of  water. 
Sponging  the  patient  during  the  hot  stages,  diuretics  and  dia- 
phoretics, and  the  early  administration  of  quinine  and  Dover's 
powder  during  the  remission.  It  was  a  complete  departure  from 
the  old  doctrine  of  wearing  out  the  fever,  and  his  reason- 
ing was  so  common-sense  and  well-founded  that  the  younger 
men  of  the  profession  accepted  it  gladly,  but  the  older  men 
shook  their  heads  and  pronounced  it  a  dangerous  innovation 
on  established  principles  in  medicine. 

It  soon  became  the  accepted  mode  of  treatment  by  the  pro- 
gressive men  in  the  profession,  and  those  who  opposed  it  grad- 
ually fell  into  line,  until  ultimately  they  all  agreed.  When  I 
look  back  on  the  last  half  century,  I  can  not  think  of  any  one 
man  who  has  done  so  much  for  the  profession  in  the  treatment 
of  fever  as  the  late  lamented  Prof.  Lunsford  P.  Yandell.  He 
lifted  the  curtain  which  let  in  the  light  that  has  been  shining 
brighter  and  brighter  to  the  present  day. 

The  remedial  agents  that  we  use  today  have  multiplied,  and 
the  modes  of  administering  the  old  ones  have  changed  so  much 
that  we  do  not  occupy  the  same  ground  that  was  occupied  by 
our  own  school  fifty  years  ago. 

The  same  can  be  truthfully  said  of  every  other  system  of 
medicine  that  has  been  in  vogue  for  the  last  half  century.  I 
make  the  assertion,  and  I  do  it  conscientiously,  and  appeal  to 
progressive  older  practitioners  for  verification,  that  the  various 
schools  of  medicine,  with  their  different  theories,  cultivated 
and  crude,  have  shed  light  on  our  professional  pathway,  and 
in  saying  this  I  do  not  reflect  on  our  honored  and  able  pro- 
fessional ancestors. 

Like  wise  and  prudent  men  we  should  feel  the  great  re- 
sponsibility that  rests  upon  us  as  physicians.  We  live  in  an  age 
of  tolerance  and  progress,  and  know  that  it  is  our  duty  to  do 


William  Henry  Wishard  237 

right  as  we  have  the  abihty  to  see  it,  without  regard  to  past 
prejudice  or  present  criticism. 

I  further  believe  that  the  intelligent  and  honest  advancing 
men  of  all  medical  schools  are  approximating  nearer  to  the 
only  tenable  ground,  that  of  rational  medicine.  We  are  not 
living  to  fight  over  the  battles  of  the  past,  but  to  learn  wisdom 
from  those  who  preceded  us.  We  have  duties  to  perform  in 
this  our  day,  and  let  us  be  found  equal  to  the  emergency. 
Neither  should  we  ridicule  our  professional  ancestors  for  the 
use  of  their  crude  and  scant  remedial  agents,  and  the  manner 
of  using  them.  The  modem  farmer  sitting  on  his  sulky  plow 
has  just  as  much  right  to  criticize  his  grandfather  for  using 
the  old  barshire  plow,  which  was  the  best  the  market  afforded, 
and  was  used  skilfully  and  industriously.  The  same  can  be 
said  of  our  professional  grandsires;  they  skilfully  used  the 
best  the  market  could  furnish,  and  overcame  obstacles  as  med- 
ical students,  and  endured  exposures  and  hardships  as  practi- 
tioners that  are  unknown  to  the  profession  of  today. 

I  knew  medical  men  sixty  years  ago  who  would  mount  their 
horses  with  their  pill-bags  full  of  medicine,  and  their  pockets 
filled  with  epsom  salts,  castor  oil  and  senna.  This  supply  of 
medicine  was  sufficient  for  forty  or  fifty  patients,  and  as  there 
were  no  drug  stores  it  was  expected  that  the  doctor  would 
furnish  all  that  was  necessary  for  his  patients.  Not  less  than 
twelve  to  thirty-six  hours  were  required  to  make  the  rounds, 
and  that  through  a  dense  forest  with  nothing  but  a  bridle  path 
from  one  neighborhood  to  another.  In  some  places  almost  im- 
passable swamps  and  ponds  of  water  had  to  be  passed  through. 
During  the  night  the  wolves  would  furnish  a  serenade  for  the 
doctor  on  his  lonely  rides.  A  frequent  change  of  horses  was 
necessary.  I  have  known  physicians  to  have  horses  stationed 
in  different  neighborhoods,  their  own  or  hired  ones,  and  it  was 


238  William  Henry  Wishard 

no  uncommon  thing  to  wear  out  three  or  four  horses  in  one 
sickly  season,  lasting  as  many  months. 

The  therapeutical  agents  have  increased  under  the  rapid  de- 
velopment of  chemistry  and  pharmacy,  until  the  whole  field  of 
mineral  and  vegetable  kingdoms  have  contributed  to  the  list, 
and  volumes  have  been  written  on  new  remedies.  Our  med- 
ical journals  are  innumerable  and  full  of  well-written  articles 
on  the  value  and  mode  of  administering  them.  Every  lab- 
oratory has  issued  pamphlets  without  number,  and  some  of 
them  quarterly  or  monthly  journals,  giving  a  list  of  their 
manufactured  products  and  the  various  diseases  for  which 
they  are  adapted. 

Giving  the  same  remedy  for  all  diseases  of  the  same  class 
has  caused  a  pitfall  into  which  many  have  fallen,  losing  sight 
of  the  great  fact  in  the  treatment  of  disease  that  each  case  has 
its  own  individual  needs  and  should  be  treated  from  that  stand- 
point alone. 

The  extracts,  fluid  and  solid,  with  the  many  palatable  com- 
pounds, make  the  practice  of  medicine  a  pleasure  as  compared 
with  the  past  when  we  had  to  administer  the  crude  drugs. 

The  great  advancement  in  the  manifold  branches  of  the 
healing  art  has  gained  for  the  profession  of  today  the  confi- 
dence of  the  public  to  a  larger  degree  than  the  pioneers  en- 
joyed, and  now  places  physicians  in  their  true  light  as  bene- 
factors. 

I  think  the  domain  of  surgery  has  gained  by  far  the  richest 
rewards  from  the  advancement. 

The  introduction  of  anaesthetics  and  antiseptics  with  their 
adjuncts  has  made  the  practice  of  surgery  a  professional  para- 
dise to  what  it  was  in  the  early  part  of  this  century,  especially 
to  that  class  of  surgery  belonging  to  gynaecology. 

The  physicians  of  today  have  opportunities  and  appliances 


William  Henry  Wishard  239 

for  successfully  prosecuting  their  profession  which  were  un- 
known in  the  past. 

They  are  not  subject  to  the  trials  and  privations  that  had  to 
be  encountered  in  the  early  times,  but  we  of  the  present  have 
temptations  thrown  in  our  professional  lives  unknown  to  other 
days. 

The  good  old  dame  of  the  "olden  times"  would  point  you  to 
her  ten  or  a  dozen  promising  sons  and  daughters,  the  joy  of 
her  home,  the  pride  of  her  heart  and  the  hope  of  her  old  age. 
We  now  have  presented  to  us  too  often,  one  son  or  daughter 
with  a  poodle  dog,  most  likely  the  poodle  only,  as  the  future 
hope  of  that  blighted  household.  Gentlemen,  you  know  what 
I  mean;  the  uses  to  which  young  doctors  in  particular  are 
solicited  to  debase  their  calling  for  filthy  lucre's  sake.  Let  us 
all  keep  our  professional  robes  unsullied  from  this  great  in- 
iquity. The  men  who  would  commit  such  an  offense  against 
the  laws  of  God  and  man  have  no  more  right  to  membership 
in  this  honorable  association  of  physicians  than  an  inhabitant 
of  Hades  would  to  a  home  in  the  Celestial  City. 

Much  has  been  wisely  said  and  written  on  the  subject  of  ele- 
vating the  standard  of  medical  education  but  we  must  remem- 
ber that  as  individual  members  we  are  responsible  for  the 
future  of  our  profession.  We  must  first  recognize  the  fact 
that  true  manhood  and  moral  worth  are  the  bed  rock  upon 
which  we  are  to  build. 

Memory  carries  me  back  seventy  years  or  more  to  the  med- 
ical men  who  failed  to  recognize  these  principles  and  each  one 
that  I  remember  closed  his  professional  career  under  a  cloud. 
We  must  ever  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  it  is  the  man  that 
honors  the  profession  more  than  the  profession  honors  the 
man. 

The  doctor  who  possesses  keen  perceptive  faculties,  a  good 


240  William  Henry  Wishard 

analytical  mind  and  conscientiously  feels  the  weight  of  respon- 
sibility that  belongs  to  his  profession,  will  never  fail. 

At  this  time  the  eyes  of  all  the  patriots  of  the  land  are 
turned  toward  New  York,  where  the  centennial  anniversary 
of  the  inauguration  of  George  Washington,  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  under  our  constitution,  is  being 
celebrated.  Let  us  not  allow  our  patriotism  to  so  overshadow 
our  thoughts  as  to  forget  that  this  is  the  fortieth  anniversary 
of  the  organization  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Society. 

At  this  time  I  hope  a  brief  reference  to  the  history  of  the 
society  will  not  be  out  of  place.  The  leading  physicians  of 
this  state  had  long  desired  an  organization  of  this  kind.  In- 
dianapolis had  a  local  medical  society,  and  in  May,  1849,  a 
call  was  sent  out  by  it  for  a  state  convention  the  following 
month.  Private  letters  were  sent  by  the  members  to  their 
medical  friends  over  the  state  inviting  them  to  attend  the  meet- 
ing to  be  held  June  6,  1849.  At  10  o'clock  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed we  met  in  Wesley  Chapel,  on  the  southwest  comer  of 
Meridian  and  Circle  streets.  Dr.  John  H.  Sanders  was  unani- 
mously elected  temporary  chairman  and  Dr.  John  S.  Bobbs, 
secretary.  A  roll  was  taken,  which  showed  twenty-eight  physi- 
cians in  attendance.  Sixteen  were  from  this  city,  three  from 
Marion  county  outside  the  city,  two  from  Wayne  county,  two 
from  Madison  county,  and  one  each  from  Montgomery,  Rip- 
ley, Hendricks,  Morgan  and  Johnson  counties. 

That  was  the  beginning  of  this  society.  Of  the  charter 
members  but  five  of  us  are  living,  four  in  Indianapolis,  and 
one  in  Texas.  They  are  Doctor  Florer,  of  Texas;  Dr.  John 
M.  Gaston,  Dr.  W.  C.  Thompson,  Dr.  P.  H.  Jameson,  and  the 
writer,  all  of  Indianapolis. 

The  founders  expected  that  great  benefit  would  be  derived 
from  it  by  the  profession  throughout  the  state,  but  it  has  far 
exceeded  our  most  sanguine  expectations. 


William  Henry  Wishard  241 

After  the  permanent  organization  of  the  society  the  names 
of  fifty-seven  physicians,  residing  in  different  locaHties  of  the 
state,  were  presented,  to  be  voted  upon  as  suitable  persons  to 
become  members.  They  were  all  elected  to  membership, 
though  not  being  present.  Among  the  number  was  Dr.  W. 
T.  S.  Comett,  of  Versailles.  He  was  elected  president  to  pre- 
side at  the  next  meeting.  In  May,  1850,  he  delivered  his  first 
annual  address,  his  subject  being  "The  Rise,  Progress,  Present 
State  and  Future  Prospects  of  Medical  Science."  It  was  an 
able  and  comprehensive  address.  Doctor  Comett  is  the  oldest 
surviving  president  of  the  society.  His  life  of  professional 
and  Christian  usefulness  is  worthy  of  our  honor  and  gratitude. 

The  Indiana  State  Medical  Society  has  been  a  power  for 
good  in  our  profession,  especially  since  it  has  been  a  delegate 
body.  It  has  stimulated  the  organization  of  local  societies  and 
elevated  the  professional  standard  so  high  that  physicians  who 
have  the  opportunity  to  join  medical  societies  and  do  not  avail 
themselves  of  it,  will  find  themselves  in  the  rear  ranks,  and 
sooner  or  later  be  assigned  to  the  invalid  corps,  fit  only  for 
light  duty. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  INDIANA  STATE 
MEDICAL  SOCIETY  AND  ITS  INFLU- 
ENCE UPON  THE  PROFESSION* 

DOCTOR  WI SHARD  said  in  introduction:  Gentlemen, 
the  memories  of  fifty  years  ago  today  are  more  than  I  can 
stand.  As  I  have  been  sitting  here  thinking  over  the  past  and 
the  heroes  who  fell,  and  see  so  few  who  are  left,  it  fills  me  with 
sadness. 

I  am  in  a  condition  not  very  pleasant  to  read  a  paper.  I  am 
in  a  transition  state  with  my  vision,  not  having  fully  gained  my 
second  sight,  and  I  can  not  find  glasses  that  exactly  suit  me,  so 
I  will  have  to  try  to  read  without  glasses. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen — On  behalf  of 
the  Marion  County  Medical  Society  I  welcome  the  Indiana 
State  Medical  Society  back  to  the  home  of  its  birth  fifty  years 
ago.  The  occasion  of  today  demands  a  readier  pen  and  greater 
fluency  than  I  possess  to  do  justice  to  the  subject.  In  various 
parts  of  our  country  we  have  old  settlers'  meetings  to  honor 
our  pioneer  fathers  and  mothers,  and  recount  their  various 
trials,  conflicts  and  successes  in  the  wilds  of  Indiana.  It  is 
proper  and  just  that  this  day,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  our 
society,  we  should  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  medical 
fathers  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  present  success  and 
prosperity  of  the  profession. 

Before  entering  into  the  subject  proper  of  the  history  of 
this  society  we  should  go  back  and  review  the  conditions  of 
things  prior  to  its  organization.  Indiana  was  admitted  into 
the  Union  in  December,  1816.  The  first  session  of  the  gen- 
eral assembly  passed  a  law  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine. 
It  had  for  its  object  the  organization  of  the  medical  profes- 


*  Address   of  welcome   given   at   the   fiftieth   annual   meeting  of  the   Indiana   State 
Medical  Society,  held  in  Indianapolis,  June  1,  1899. 

242 


William  Henry  Wishard  243 

sion  into  boards  of  supervisors  in  each  judicial  district,  to  meet 
at  stated  times  to  license  such  persons  who,  after  examination, 
seemed  qualified  to  practice  medicine,  and  to  fix  a  rate  or  scale 
of  charges  for  medical  services.  The  law  was  such  that  the 
physician  not  having  a  license  could  not  collect  his  bills.  A 
state  medical  society  existed  previous  to  the  organization,  but 
disbanded  in  1825.  The  meeting  that  year  was  held  in  In- 
dianapolis, and  was  presided  over  by  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Mitchell, 
the  first  physician  who  ever  came  to  this  city.  Doctors  Dun- 
lap  and  Comett,  the  first  and  second  presidents  of  this  society, 
attended  that  meeting.  It  was  the  last  ever  held  prior  to  the 
organization  of  this  association. 

In  1825  the  law  was  amended  granting  charters  to  state  and 
local  societies.  In  1830  several  amendments  were  made  to 
the  law.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  the  legislature  repealed  all 
laws  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine.  Previous  to  1817 
there  was  not  a  medical  college  west  of  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains, yet  at  that  day  there  were  eminent  physicians  and  sur- 
geons in  the  west;  men  of  national  reputation  such  as  Dr. 
Ephraim  McDowell,  of  Danville,  Ky.,  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Dud- 
ley, of  Lexington,  Ky.  The  students  of  that  day  selected  for 
their  preceptors  the  best  physicians  in  the  country,  and  prose- 
cuted private  dissections.  Many  of  the  most  successful  prac- 
titioners had  never  seen  a  medical  college.  They  were  just 
as  ambitious  to  elevate  the  standard  of  the  profession  as  the 
medical  men  of  today.  After  the  laws  regulating  the  practice 
of  medicine  were  repealed  the  flood  gates  were  open,  and  such 
a  variety  of  men  and  talent  embarked  in  the  profession  of  the 
healing  art  as  has  never  been  seen  by  any  succeeding  genera- 
tion. Samuel  Thompson,  of  Massachusetts,  published  a  work 
on  medicine  entitled  "Right  to  Practice,"  price  ten  dollars. 
This  was  the  only  text-book  known  among  the  so-called 
Thompsonians. 


244  William  Henry  Wishard 

I  knew  a  stonemason  who  threw  aside  his  tools  and  entered 
the  practice.  A  blacksmith  of  my  acquaintance  laid  down  his 
hammer  and  wrote  to  his  friends  that  he  had  purchased 
Thompson's  book  and  had  entered  the  profession  of  medicine. 
In  two  or  three  years  they  both  returned  to  their  trades  in  dis- 
gust for  want  of  patronage  in  their  chosen  calling.  Farmers 
deserted  their  occupation  to  enter  the  profession.  Many  of 
the  midwives  extended  their  fields  of  usefulness  from  obstet- 
rics to  general  practice. 

During  the  late  war  I  entered  the  hospital  at  Corinth,  Miss., 
after  that  city  was  vacated,  and  I  found  a  dead  confederate 
and  an  empty  bottle  and  Thompson's  practice.  The  latter  I 
captured  and  have  kept  as  a  relic  of  bygone  days. 

In  1838  I  attended  a  convention  of  the  Johnson  County 
Botanical  Society  as  a  spectator.  It  was  held  in  a  backwoods 
schoolhouse.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  personnel  of 
that  assembly,  only  to  say  that  those  who  attended  were  all 
well  developed  physically  and  in  good  health.  The  larger  por- 
tion of  the  assembly  was  of  the  female  sex.  The  principal 
speaker  was  a  local  preacher,  who  grew  earnest,  but  not  elo- 
quent, in  his  denunciation  of  the  calomel  doctors,  as  he  called 
them.  After  the  society  adjourned  his  reverence  and  I  trav- 
eled the  same  road  home.  He  knew  I  was  a  medical  student, 
and  he  was  on  the  war  path  and  anxious  for  debate.  I  asked 
him  if  his  professional  associates  (steam  doctors,  as  they  were 
known)  ever  gave  quinine.  He  looked  at  me  indignantly  and 
replied,  "Don't  you  know  we  never  give  mineral  medicines?" 
I  suggested  to  him  that  quinine  was  not  a  mineral  production. 
He  replied  that  he  understood  it  was.  He  was  the  great  mogul, 
or  teacher  of  that  association,  and  you  can  well  guess  the  in- 
tellectual status  of  the  rank  and  file.  Such  was  the  legitimate 
result  of  the  repeal  of  the  law  regulating  the  p^actice  of  medi- 
cine. 


William  Henry  Wishard  245 

There  were  a  few  medical  societies  in  different  parts  of  the 
state,  and  many  of  the  leading  physicians  had  long  desired  a 
state  organization.  Indianapolis  had  a  local  society  composed  of 
the  leading  physicians  of  the  place.  They  sent  out  a  call  in 
May  to  their  professional  friends  to  meet  June  6,  1849,  at  10 
o'  clock  A,  M.,  in  this  city.  Pursuant  to  that  call  the  physicians 
met  in  Wesley  Chapel  at  the  hour  named.  Dr.  John  H.  San- 
ders was  called  to  preside  as  temporary  chairman.  The  chair 
appointed  Dr.  John  S.  Bobbs  temporary  secretary.  Then  they 
proceeded  to  make  out  the  roll  of  all  the  physicians;  twenty- 
eight  answered  to  their  names.  After  roll  call  Doctor  Moth- 
ershead  moved  that  the  president  appoint  a  committee  to  rec- 
ommend officers.  The  committee  named  the  following:  For 
president,  Dr.  Livingston  Dunlap;  vice-presidents,  Dr.  N. 
Johnson,  Dr.  T.  Ryan,  Dr.  J.  W.  Florer  and  Dr.  C.  Wallace ; 
secretaries,  Dr.  John  S.  Bobbs  and  Dr.  A.  M.  Hunt.  After  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to  prepare  the  business  of  the 
convention  the  society  adjourned  to  meet  at  3  o'clock  p.  m. 
The  meeting  reassembled  in  the  afternoon,  with  the  president 
in  the  chair.  A  committee  of  nine  was  appointed  to  formulate 
the  constitution  and  by-laws.  Another  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  report  on  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  medical 
journal.  A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  memorialize  the 
legislature  on  the  subject  of  homicidal  insanity.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  overture  the  legislature  to  prepare  suitable 
laws  for  registration  of  marriages,  births  and  deaths.  The 
convention  accepted  invitations  to  visit  the  various  benevolent 
institutions  of  the  city.  The  meeting  adjourned  to  meet  at 
8  o'clock  the  next  morning,  June  7.  Doctor  Dunlap  was  in 
the  chair  and  the  minutes  of  the  previous  day  were  read  and 
approved.  Doctor  Bobbs,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  to  for- 
mulate a  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  state  society,  made  a 
report,  which  was  accepted,  and  the  constitution  and  by-laws 


246  William  Henry  Wishaed 

were  taken  up  and  discussed  section  by  section,  amended  and 
passed.  The  afternoon  meeting  opened  at  1 :30  o'clock,  with  the 
president  in  the  chair.  Doctor  Parry  made  a  lengthy  report  on 
the  duties  of  a  physician.  It  elicited  considerable  discussion, 
and  was  unanimously  adopted.  Doctor  Curran  reported  on 
the  subject  of  establishing  a  medical  journal,  and  recommended 
the  same.  His  report  was  lengthy,  and  ordered  to  be  spread 
on  the  minutes.  The  society  adjourned  to  meet  again  at  6  p.  m. 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  hospital  for  the  insane.  In 
compliance  with  the  resolution  offered  by  Doctor  Mears,  the 
names  of  fifty-seven  physicians  residing  in  different  parts  of 
the  state  were  voted  upon  as  suitable  persons  to  become  mem- 
bers and  were  elected.  A  committee  of  five  was  appointed  to 
nominate  officers  for  the  ensuing  year. 

The  committee  reported  the  following  names :  For  president, 
Doctor  Cornett,  of  Versailles;  vice-presidents,  Drs.  A.  Clapp, 
N.  Johnson,  L.  Dunlap  and  Farquhar;  secretary.  Dr.  John  S. 
Bobbs ;  assistant  secretary,  Dr.  A.  M.  Hunt;  corresponding  sec- 
retary. Dr.  L.  Bullard;  treasurer.  Dr.  Mothershead;  librarian. 
Dr.  Jameson.  A  standing  committee  of  five  on  admission  to 
membership  was  appointed,  also  an  executive  committee,  a 
finance  committee  and  a  committee  on  publication  and  medical 
ethics.  Delegates  to  the  American  Medical  Association  were 
elected.  Doctor  Florer,  on  behalf  of  the  members  from  a  dis- 
tance, tendered  thanks  to  the  physicians  of  this  city  for  the 
courtesies  and  attention  shown  them  during  their  visit.  A 
resolution  of  thanks  to  the  officers  for  the  efficient  manner  in 
which  they  discharged  their  duties  was  passed.  Pending  a 
motion  to  adjourn  the  president.  Doctor  Dunlap,  made  a  brief 
address,  thanking  the  society  for  the  harmony  that  had  char- 
acterized the  meeting  and  foreshadowed  the  advantages  and 
profit  such  an  organization  would  be  to  the  profession  at 
large.    The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  Washington  hall,  where 


William  Henry  Wishakd  247 

it  resumed  its  deliberations  around  a  sumptuously  spread  table 
which  was  prepared  by  the  physicians  of  the  city.  At  10 
o'clock  p.  M.  the  society  adjourned  to  meet  the  following  year, 
1850. 

Thus  ended  the  first  meeting  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical 
Society.  Two  days  were  spent  in  hard  work,  and  although  no 
papers  were  read  on  medical  subjects,  there  was  laid  deep  and 
wide  the  foundation  on  which  the  successors  of  that  meeting 
have  so  wisely  built,  and  today  we  are  reaping  a  rich  harvest 
from  the  seed  that  was  sown  fifty  years  ago.  The  following  is 
the  roll  of  the  twenty-eight  charter  members  who  were  pres- 
ent ;  four  only  can  answer  today. 

Physicians  present  at  the  organization,  June  6,  1849: 

John  H.  Sanders,  Indianapolis  J.  Nutt,  Marion  county 

Livingston  Dunlap,  Indianapolis  H.  N.  Johnson,  Broad  Ripple 

William  C.  Thompson,  Alexandra  J.  Mullin,  Napoleon 

Indianapolis  H.  N.  Johnson, 
John  L.  Mothershead,  Cambridge  City 

Indianapolis  D.  R.  Cursey,  Milton, 
R.  J.  Patterson,  Indianapolis  Wayne  county,  Ind. 

A.  D.  Gall,  Indianapolis  T.  W.  Florer,  Alamo, 

C.  S.  Ramsay,  Indianapolis  Montgomery  county 
George  W.  Mears,  Indianapolis  John  Hunt,  Madison  county 
R.  Curran,  Indianapolis  T.  Ryan.  Anderson,  Ind. 

T.  Bullard,  Indianapolis  Charles  Wallace,  Belleville, 

Charles  Parry,  Indianapolis  Hendricks  county 

A.  M.  Hunt,  Indianapolis  David  Hutchinson,  Moores- 

John  S.  Bobbs,  Indianapolis  ville,  Morgan  county 

P.  H.  Jameson,  Indianapolis  W.  R.  Smith,  Cumberland 

J.  M.  Gaston,  Indianapolis  William  H.  Wishard,  Green- 

D.  Funkhouser,  Indianapolis  wood,  Johnson  county 

Who  will  stand  here  fifty  years  hence  at  the  centennial  meet- 
ing of  this  society  and  call  the  roll  ?  Who  will  be  absent  and 
not  answer  to  their  names?  I  hope  there  are  those  here  that 
will  be  able  to  respond. 


248  William  Henry  Wishard 

Dr.  John  M.  Gaston,  of  this  city,  is  one  of  the  survivors  of 
that  day  when  this  society  was  organized.  He  was  a  young 
physician  of  prominence,  and  had  a  lucrative  practice.  Twen- 
ty-five years  ago  he  met  with  a  serious  accident  that  disabled 
him  and  prevented  him  following  his  profession.  He  has  ever 
been  an  upright  and  worthy  citizen.    May  he  never  grow  old ! 

Dr.  Patrick  H.  Jameson,  of  Indianapolis,  was  also  a  charter 
member.  The  doctor  is  now  in  his  seventy-fifth  year,  and  has 
just  entered  the  fifty-first  year  of  continuous  practice  in  this 
city,  having  practiced  here  longer  than  any  other  physician. 
His  record  and  standing  are  high,  and  he  has  always  been 
classed  as  a  leading  physician.     Long  may  he  live ! 

Dr.  Thomas  W.  Florer  is  another  charter  member.  At  that 
time  he  was  a  citizen  of  Alamo,  Montgomery  county.  He  now 
lives  at  Waxahachie,  Ellis  county,  Texas.  Of  the  four  vice- 
presidents  chosen  at  the  organization  of  this  society  he  is  the 
only  survivor.  He  was  an  efficient  and  faithful  member  of 
several  important  committees,  and  contributed  his  part  to  the 
literature  of  the  society;  was  a  regular  attendant  at  its  an- 
nual meetings  as  long  as  he  lived  in  the  state,  but,  like  many 
of  his  day,  his  country  called  and  he  obeyed.  He  was  a  sur- 
geon of  the  Union  army  both  in  hospital  and  field.  He  was 
surgeon  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Regiment  of  Indiana  Volunteers 
for  two  years,  and  is  now  leading  physician  in  his  southern 
home.  He  is  in  his  seventy-seventh  year,  and  has  made  a  long 
journey  to  be  with  us  in  this  gathering  of  his  professional 
brethren.  We  welcome  him  back  to  the  scenes  of  his  early 
days. 

I  stand  before  you  as  a  charter  member  of  the  society,  in 
the  eighty- fourth  year  of  my  age,  and  the  sixtieth  of  my  pro- 
fessional life.  When  I  look  back  to  the  beginning  of  my  medi- 
cal life,  nearly  ten  years  before  this  society  was  organized, 
my  professional  friends  of  that  period  are  all  gone;  I  feel 


William  Henry  Wishakd  249 

lonely.  My  only  comfort  is  to  make  friends  of  today  and  try  to 
keep  up  with  the  procession  as  best  I  can,  and  cheer  those  that 
are  in  the  advance  column  in  this  progressive  age;  to  be  satis- 
fied with  my  lot  and  try  to  grow  old  contentedly,  endeavoring 
to  live  up  to  the  motto  of  the  illustrious  Lincoln,  "With  char- 
ity for  all  and  malice  toward  none,"  and  pursue  the  right  as 
God  gives  me  the  ability  to  see  it. 

The  second  annual  meeting  of  the  society  met  in  the  lecture 
room  of  the  Baptist  church,  Wednesday,  May  15,  1850,  pre- 
sided over  by  Doctor  Comett,  the  president,  that  old  Roman 
and  pioneer  of  the  profession,  whose  life  was  a  benediction  to 
all.  The  executive  committee  requested  that  the  president  be 
asked  to  read  his  paper  on  the  "Rise,  Progress,  Present  State 
and  Future  Prospects  of  the  Medical  Science,"  at  early  candle 
light  the  first  night.  Yes,  it  was  candle  light,  for  those  were 
primitive  days.  The  address  was  able  and  lengthy.  If  it  could 
be  read  today  you  would  say  it  was  prophetic,  and  foreshad- 
owed what  has  come  to  pass.  The  president's  address  and  a 
paper  from  Doctor  Bobbs  were  the  only  written  addresses  at 
that  meeting.  After  the  discussion  of  the  usual  business  the 
society  adjourned. 

The  third  annual  meeting  occurred  in  the  lecture  room  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city,  May  21,  1851, 
Dr.  A.  Clapp,  president.  At  this  meeting  a  number  of  papers 
of  merit  were  read.  The  by-laws  of  the  society  were  so 
amended  as  to  enable  the  society  to  meet  wherever  a  majority 
of  the  mem1)ers  decided.  After  discussing  the  regular  busi- 
ness of  the  society  the  meeting  adjourned  to  convene  at  New 
Albany  the  following  year. 

The  state  society  met  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  of 
New  Albany,  May  19,  1852.  Dr.  George  W.  Mears  was  pres- 
ident. There  were  thirty-nine  meml)ers  in  attendance.  A 
number  of  papers  were  read  on  medical  subjects,  and  all  were 


250  William  Henry  Wishard 

worthy  of  a  larger  hearing.  After  discussing  the  usual  busi- 
ness the  society  adjourned  to  meet  at  Lafayette  in  1853. 

The  society  met  in  the  courthouse  at  Lafayette,  Wednes- 
day, May  18,  1853,  the  president,  Dr.  J.  H.  Brower,  presid- 
ing. Fifty-eight  members  were  present.  At  this  meeting  of 
the  society  more  papers  were  read  on  medical  and  surgical  sub- 
jects than  at  any  two  former  meetings,  covering  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  pages  of  the  transactions.  The  paper  of  Doctor 
Harding,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  practice,  was  on  the 
"Practice  of  Medicine,  or  the  Treatment  of  Diseases  in  East- 
ern Indiana."  The  paper  was  exhaustive,  and  covered  thirty- 
two  pages  of  the  transactions.  It  is  well  worth  reading  today. 
Doctor  Bobbs  reported  on  "Surgery,"  and  Doctor  Sutton  on 
"Milk  Sickness."  There  were  other  valuable  papers  also. 
This  meeting  was  one  of  unusual  interest,  and  adjourned  to 
meet  at  Evansville,  May  17,  1854. 

The  meeting  at  Evansville  was  held  in  the  hall  of  the  Medi- 
cal College,  Doctor  Deming  presiding.  The  roll  call  indicated 
forty-one  in  attendance.  The  papers  read  at  this  meeting  were 
up  to  the  usual  standard.  Dr.  Wm.  W.  Mayo  read  a  paper 
entitled  "The  Pathological  Indications  of  the  Urine,"  the  first 
paper  of  the  kind  read  before  the  society.  Doctor  Deming, 
the  president,  known  as  "the  old  man  eloquent,"  gave  an  ad- 
dress on  "The  Moral  Dignity  of  the  Profession,"  which  should 
be  read  by  every  physician. 

The  next  annual  meeting  of  the  society  was  held  in  the  lec- 
ture room  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Indianapolis, 
May  18,  1855.  The  president  was  Dr.  M.  J.  Bray,  of  Evans- 
ville. Fifty-three  members  were  registered.  A  paper  was 
read  by  Doctor  Brower  on  "The  Profession  of  Medicine." 
Reports  on  "Obstetrics  and  Puerperal  Fever"  were  given  by 
Doctors  Graham,  Murphy  and  Florer. 

The  society  met  May  20,  1856,  in  Indianapolis,  in  the  Sec- 


William  Henry  Wishard  251 

ond  Presbyterian  Church,  where  it  met  the  previous  year, 
eighty-six  being  in  attendance,  the  largest  number  that  had 
attended  so  far.  There  were  fifteen  papers  read  on  different 
subjects  pertaining  to  medicine  and  surgery,  all  of  which  were 
profitable  to  the  profession  of  the  state  in  those  days. 

While  I  have  no  desire  to  make  invidious  distinctions,  I  can 
not  allow  this  occasion  to  pass  without  reference  to  the  name 
of  Dr.  Wm.  Lomax,  the  president  of  that  meeting,  and  paying 
a  tribute  to  his  memory.  He  was  the  leading  physician  and 
surgeon  of  Marion  and  Grant  counties,  and,  I  may  add,  of  ad- 
joining counties  as  well.  He  was  able  as  a  practitioner  and 
surgeon,  a  patriot  and  all  that  is  implied  in  the  term,  a  Chris- 
tian gentleman.  He  served  his  country  acceptably  as  a  sur- 
geon in  the  Union  army,  and  was  an  efficient  and  loyal  member 
of  this  society.  To  the  young  physicians  present,  I  would  ad- 
monish you  to  walk  in  his  footsteps,  and  you  will  never  fail. 
There  are  gray-haired  veterans  sitting  before  me  of  whom  as 
much  could  truthfully  be  said  as  has  been  said  of  Doctor  Lo- 
max. 

The  eighth  annual  meeting  was  held  in  Indianapolis,  May 
19,  1857,  in  Washington  hall.  Dr.  Daniel  Meeker,  of  La- 
porte,  was  president.  Forty-six  members  answered  to  their 
names  and  twenty- four  new  members  were  added,  making  a 
total  attendance  of  seventy.    Ten  papers  were  presented. 

Having  hastily  reviewed  the  first  eight  annual  meetings  of 
the  society,  shall  we  not  reflect,  compare  and  see  what  has  been 
accomplished?  At  the  organization  there  were  but  twenty- 
eight  delegates.  After  the  meeting  at  different  points  over  the 
state  the  membership  increased  to  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
three,  while  the  average  attendance  at  the  annual  meetings 
was  only  al>out  forty-five.  The  question  arises,  why  this  dis- 
crepancy between  the  membership  and  attendance?  We  must 
remember  the  railroads  were  few  in  those  days,  and  the  dele- 


252  William  Henry  Wishard 

gates  generally  had  to  go  by  their  own  conveyances.  Physi- 
cians were  ready  to  join  when  the  societies  convened  near 
their  homes  and  attendance  was  thus  made  easy.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  faithful  ones,  many  were  never  heard  from 
at  subsequent  meetings.  After  1857  the  society  met  at  vari- 
ous cities  throughout  the  state,  and  added  to  its  membership 
from  the  profession  in  the  vicinity  where  the  meetings  were 
held.  As  facilities  for  traveling  increased  the  attendance  was 
enlarged.  However,  it  varied  according  to  location,  which 
also  influenced  in  some  degree  the  standard  of  the  papers. 

The  constitution  was  changed,  whereby  the  society  became  a 
delegate  body.  I  regret  that  I  am  unable  to  give  the  exact  date 
of  this  change.  Though  opposed  by  a  respectable  minority, 
it  was  a  wise  move,  and  freed  the  society  of  what  might  be 
called  "tramp"  delegates  and  stimulated  the  organization  of 
counties  societies,  as  only  those  who  are  members  of  the  local 
societies  are  recognized  as  delegates  to  the  state  meetings.  It 
also  had  its  effect  in  elevating  and  strengthening  the  society. 
The  foregoing  shows  a  steady  march  onward  and  upward  in 
number  as  well  as  quality  of  papers  and  discussions  before 
the  society. 

During  the  civil  war  the  attendance  of  the  meetings  was 
greatly  reduced.  Many  of  the  best  physicians  were  in  the 
army,  and  others  were  too  much  occupied  to  attend.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  the  opportunity  was  given  them  to  again 
be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  state  society,  and  ever 
since  the  attendance  has  been  on  the  increase.  At  our  last 
meeting,  1898,  held  at  Lafayette,  there  were  thirty-three  pa- 
pers presented,  covering  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  pages  of 
the  printed  report,  being  three  papers  less  than  were  read  in 
the  first  eight  years  of  the  life  of  this  society.  Eighty-two 
societies  were  represented  by  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  dele- 
gates.   This  number  represented  a  county  membership  of  fif- 


William  Henry  Wishard  253 

teen  hundred.  I  am  sure  that  the  report  of  this  fiftieth  anni- 
versary will  far  surpass  that  of  last  year  in  attendance  as  well 
as  numbers  of  papers.* 

Fifty  years  have  made  a  great  advance  in  medicire.  When 
I  look  back  and  remember  the  zeal  and  earnestness  of  so  many 
of  the  departed  members  who  worked  for  the  future  of  the  so- 
ciety, as  well  as  its  good  during  their  active  period,  I  can  not 
but  believe  that  their  lives  were  well  spent.  Many,  indeed,  will 
rise  up  and  call  them  blessed,  for  they  served  well  their  day 
and  generation,  to  the  credit  and  honor  of  the  profession. 

One  word  to  the  younger  members  of  the  profession  and 
then  I  have  finished.  You  have  entered  the  profession  in  the 
brightest  period  of  its  history,  and  you  have  the  benefit  of  the 
accumulated  wisdom  of  those  who  have  preceded  you  within 
the  last  half  century.  There  has  been  a  marked  advance  in 
surgery  and  its  appliances,  in  physiology  and  pathology  and 
the  appliances  to  diagnose  and  prognose  diseases,  and  medi- 
cinal agencies  to  treat  diseases  that  were  unknown  to  the  older 
members  of  this  society  when  they  entered  the  profession. 
Truly  your  "lines  have  fallen  in  pleasant  places,"  and,  if  you 
do  not  succeed  with  the  light  that  is  thrown  on  the  subject, 
it  will  be  your  fault.  Ever  keep  in  mind  the  words  of  Solo- 
mon, "A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches, 
and  loving  favor  rather  than  silver  and  gold."  Remember 
that  you  are  entering  the  most  God-like  of  all  the  professions 
— to  heal  the  sick,  make  the  lame  to  walk  and  the  blind  to  see. 
I  never  knew  a  physician  to  fail  who  entered  the  profession 
well  equipped  in  head  and  heart.  An  immoral  doctor  is  the 
worst  character  that  walks  upon  God's  footstool.  He  is  a 
walking  pestilence.  Shun  him  as  you  would  a  viper.  Nij 
greater  calamity  could  befall  a  community  than  to  have  such  a 


•  There  were  404  in  attendance  registered,  and  enough  unregistered  to  make  about 
450. 


254  William  Henry  Wishard 

doctor  in  its  midst.  He  will  slay  the  innocent,  destroy  virtue 
and  bring  sorrow  that  is  worse  than  death  to  many  homes.  I 
am  glad  to  say  this  type  of  a  physician  is  largely  in  the  mi- 
nority. 

Your  profession  takes  you  into  palaces  as  well  as  hovels. 
You  are  brought  in  contact  with  the  virtuous  and  vile  alike. 
The  doctor's  influence  for  good  or  for  evil  is  unequaled  in 
any  other  calling.  Especially  is  the  individuality  of  the  vil- 
lage or  country  doctor  never  lost  sight  of.  Always  place  your- 
self on  the  right  side,  and  your  good  deeds  will  follow  you  to 
the  end  of  life.  After  you  have  passed  away  your  friends, 
who  will  be  many,  will  love  to  dwell  on  your  memory.  In 
your  hands  is  the  future  of  our  beloved  profession,  and  may 
you  ever  be  found  true  and  faithful  to  your  noble  calling.  As 
the  years  roll  on  you  may  rise  higher  and  higher  in  the  scale 
of  professional  usefulness,  true  manhood  and  moral  worth. 
Then,  when  you  have  finished  your  career,  you  can  in  truth  be 
called  "the  beloved  physician,"  as  was  the  Apostle  Luke. 


MEDICAL  MEN  AND  MEDICAL  PROG- 
RESS, PAST,  PRESENT  AND 
FUTURE* 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Indianapolis  Medi- 
cal Society  : 

Custom  has  made  it  obligatory  upon  the  retiring  president 
of  this  society  to  thank  you  for  the  honor  you  have  conferred 
upon  him  by  asking  him  to  preside  over  the  largest  local  medi- 
cal society  in  our  state,  a  society  which  for  earnest  investiga- 
tion of  all  medical  and  surgical  subjects,  is  unexcelled.  I 
thank  you  heartily  for  the  unanimity  with  which  you  bestowed 
the  office  of  president  upon  me.  I  am  glad  of  this  opportu- 
nity, now  in  my  old  age,  after  a  long  life  and  nearly  sixty-five 
years  of  professional  work,  to  say  that  I  have  no  bitter  mem- 
ories of  the  past  for  the  living  or  for  those  who  are  gone.  For 
all  the  honors  and  favors  bestowed  upon  me  by  my  profes- 
sional associates  I  am  profoundly  grateful. 

My  subject  this  evening  is  "Medical  Men  and  Medical  Prog- 
ress, Past,  Present  and  Future."  The  subject  is  a  voluminous 
one  and  in  this  brief  review  I  will  only  refer  to  some  of  the 
most  interesting  points  in  the  history  of  the  profession  in  this 
country. 

There  is  a  very  meagre  history  of  colonial  medicine  pre- 
vious to  the  Revolutionary  war,  but  there  are  some  things 
worthy  of  note.  The  colony  of  Jamestown,  Va.,  was  settled 
by  the  English.  The  first  laws  passed  by  the  colony  pertain- 
ing to  the  profession  were  passed  October  21,  1630,  requiring 
physicians  to  declare  on  oath  the  cost  of  their  medicines,  the 


•  Address  given   ai   retiring  president   of   Indianapolis   Medical    Society  at   meeting 
held  at  hia  home  in  celebration  of  his  eighty-ninth  birthday,  January   17,  190S. 

255 


256  William  Henry  Wishard 

purpose  being  doubtless  to  prevent  exorbitant  charges,  an  act 
not  reposing  confidence  in  the  profession. 

The  Plymouth  colony  had  but  one  physician;  he  brought 
with  him  a  good  supply  of  medicine.  He  was  Samuel  Fuller, 
and  for  many  years  was  the  only  doctor  for  the  territory  that 
is  now  known  as  New  England.  His  wife  was  his  assistant, 
her  specialty  being  obstetrics.  The  various  colonies  brought 
with  them  their  own  physicians.  Each  colony  had  a  separate 
charter  or  local  government,  independent  of  each  other.  The 
Dutch  colony  that  settled  at  New  York,  then  called  New  Am- 
sterdam, had  the  broadest  and  most  comprehensive  charter  of 
all  the  colonies.  It  provided  for  the  support  of  the  schools, 
the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel  and  the  care  of  the  poor. 

William  Penn  and  his  Quaker  brethren,  whose  motto  was 
"Peace  and  Good  Will  to  all  Men,"  had  the  best  equipped  col- 
ony, and  Philadelphia  soon  became  the  center  of  prosperity. 
By  1640  the  colonies  had  passed  laws  regulating  the  practice 
of  medicine.  They  were  stringent,  often  foolishly  so,  as  they 
forbade  any  one  not  a  physician  doing  anything  to  relieve  a 
patient  without  the  direction  of  a  doctor,  no  matter  how  great 
the  emergency. 

Steadily  the  profession  advanced  until  by  1700  there  were 
men  in  it  who  were  eminent  for  their  time  and  opportunity. 
Even  before  the  Revolutionary  war  hospitals  were  established 
and  a  medical  college  in  Philadelphia  offered  educational  fa- 
cilities for  men  in  their  own  country,  as  heretofore  the  lead- 
ing physicians  were  educated  abroad. 

Following  the  conflict  of  1776,  the  government  was  bank- 
rupt and  the  people  poor,  there  being  no  individual  wealth  as 
there  is  today;  but  the  men  who  had  fought  through  seven 
years  of  war  had  foresight  to  see  there  was  a  great  future  for 
this  country.  They  had  the  energy  and  patriotism  to  establish 
enterprises  that  have  developed  the  greatest  nation  of  the 
world  in  any  age. 


William  Henry  Wishaed  257 

Some  of  the  great  leaders  of  Revolutionary  fame  were  from 
the  ranks  of  the  medical  profession.  Most  notable  among 
these  was  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  whose  memory  will  ever  be 
honored  and  revered  as  the  "Father  of  American  Medicine." 
His  name  is  famous  in  history,  not  only  for  his  eminent  qual- 
ifications as  a  physician,  but  as  a  statesman,  orator,  public  ben- 
efactor, teacher  and  a  man  of  brilliant  literar}'-  attainments. 
His  fame  was  such  that  he  was  not  only  honored  in  his  own 
country  to  an  unusual  degree,  but  was  elected  to  membership 
in  many  noted  societies  abroad.  In  recognition  of  his  inesti- 
mable services  in  the  advancement  of  medical  knowledge,  he 
was  the  recipient  of  medals  and  other  testimonials  from  vari- 
ous crowned  heads  of  Europe.  As  a  member  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  he  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  further  served  his  country  as  treasurer  of  the 
United  States  Mint  for  fourteen  years,  occupying  this  office 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  aggressive  opposition  to  the 
use  of  all  intoxicants,  and  his  aversion  to  the  use  of  tobacco, 
were  no  less  vigorous  than  his  hatred  of  slavery.  His  writings 
were  so  extensive  that  one  marvels  at  his  ability  to  accomplish 
so  much  in  a  literary  way  when  he  was  so  active  along  other 
lines.  It  is  said  that  never  in  the  history  of  America  has  the 
death  of  a  physician  caused  such  universal  regret  and  mourn- 
ing. In  a  word  he  was  a  versatile,  useful  man,  whose  work 
for  the  cause  of  mankind  and  the  advancement  of  medicine  is 
without  parallel  in  this  country. 

During  the  period  of  reconstruction  following  the  Revolu- 
tionar>'  war,  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we 
find  the  medical  profession  diligent  in  the  progress  of  its 
science  and  great  advancement  had  been  wrought.  Philadel- 
phia was  easily  the  leader  in  medical  interest  and  power. 

Doctor  Physick,  the  most  celebrated  surgeon  of  his  day  and 
known  as  the  "Father  of  American  Surgery,"  was  to  this 
country  what  Sir  Astley  Cooper  was  to  English  surgery.     Sir 


258  William  Henry  Wishard 

Astley  was  an  author,  while  Doctor  Physick  was  not  a  writer, 
but  as  a  lecturer,  didactic  teacher  and  brilliant  operator,  was 
unsurpassed  by  any  surgeon  of  his  time.  He  had  more  than  a 
national  reputation  and  performed  more  operations  for  lith- 
otomy than  any  surgeon  of  his  day,  except  Doctor  Dudley  of 
Lexington,  Ky.,  who  had  a  larger  field  and  less  competition. 
A  notable  operation  Doctor  Dudley  performed  was  upon  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  when  both  were  advanced  in  age.  The  distin- 
guished jurist  is  said  to  have  undergone  the  operation  with  re- 
markable fortitude  and  the  case  was  unusual  in  that  the  largest 
number  of  stones  were  removed  from  a  patient  of  which  his- 
tory gives  any  record. 

From  1790  to  1810  was  the  golden  age  of  medicine  as  com- 
pared with  the  past.  The  treatment  introduced  during  the 
epidemics  of  yellow  fever  in  1793  and  1797  brought  about  a 
marked  improvement  in  results.  Calomel,  purgatives  and  the 
lancet  were  the  prescriptions  used.  Doctor  Physick  was  a  vic- 
tim of  yellow  fever  during  both  of  these  epidemics  and  the 
second  time  was  bled  to  the  extent  of  176  ounces.  In  one  day 
Doctor  Rush  visited  one  hundred  patients  and  returning  home 
at  night,  thanked  God  that  he  believed  every  patient  would 
recover  under  the  new  mode  of  treatment. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  two  years  after  the 
English  physician  Jenner  announced  to  the  world  his  discov- 
ery of  vaccination  as  a  preventive  of  smallpox,  Doctor 
Waterhouse  of  Harvard  demonstrated  its  value  by  experiment- 
ing on  his  own  sons  until  he  was  satisfied  that  it  was  a  safe  and 
sure  protection  against  the  ravages  of  smallpox.  About  this 
time.  Doctor  Jackson  of  Boston  returned  from  a  period  of 
study  abroad  and  brought  with  him  sufficient  virus  to  demon- 
strate its  worth  and  soon  established  a  reputation  which  made 
him  famous.  In  this  country  the  novel  treatment  was  more 
readily  accepted  than  in  Europe.    No  discovery  in  the  science 


William  Henry  Wishaed  259 

of  medicine  has  brought  such  rehef  to  the  human  race  as  that 
of  vaccination.  One  eminent  writer  says  that  "of  all  the  foes 
our  ancestors  faced — hardships,  famine,  pestilence,  Indian  and 
foreign  wars,  the  most  dreaded  was  smallpox."  The  pestilence 
soon  followed  the  colonies  to  these  shores  and  not  only  were  the 
early  settlers  stricken,  but  several  tribes  of  Indians  were  nearly 
blotted  out  of  existence.  It  is  said  that  on  the  streets  of 
London  one  hundred  years  or  more  ago,  the  most  conspicuous 
thing  among  the  people  was  the  enormous  number  of  pock- 
marked faces.  A  striking  incident  of  the  fatality  among  the 
early  settlers  of  the  east,  due  to  smallpox,  was  in  the  case  of 
William  Penn's  colony.  The  vessel  on  which  they  came  lost 
more  than  one-third  on  board  before  landing  on  American 
soil. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  Dr.  Valentine  Mott  was 
the  leading  surgeon  of  New  York.  With  unusual  advantages 
for  those  days,  he  availed  himself  of  opportunities  at  home 
and  abroad,  where  he  received  instruction  from  the  most  cele- 
brated and  skilful  teachers  and  surgeons  in  London  and  Edin- 
burgh. Within  a  brief  time  he  became  a  professor  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  University  of  New  York.  For  fifty- 
six  years  he  remained  a  lecturer  and  in  that  field  won  great 
distinction.  He  achieved  his  greatest  renown  in  the  ligature 
of  arteries,  an  advancement  in  the  art  of  surgery  which  he 
was  the  first  to  accomplish,  and  it  is  said  by  one  writer  that  no 
surgeon  living  or  dead  ever  tied  so  many  arteries.  He  did 
excellent  work  in  other  lines  of  surgery — stone  in  the  bladder, 
excisions  of  the  jaws,  and  the  surgery  of  harelip.  While 
traveling  in  Europe,  when  his  fame  had  brought  him  recog- 
nition on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  he  went  to  Constan- 
tinople where  he  removed  a  wen  from  the  head  of  the  Sultan, 
while  it  is  said  "the  trembling  court  physician  applatided." 
After  a  long  and  useful  career,  he  died,  leaving  behind  him  the 


260  William  Henry  Wishard 

good  works  and  influence  of  one  of  the  strongest  men  of  his 
calling.  At  this  same  period  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  we  find  that  Dr.  John  Collins  Warren  was  perhaps 
the  most  distinguished  physician  in  Boston.  He  belonged  to 
a  family  that  has  been  illustrious  in  medical  circles,  his  father 
having  established  the  medical  school  of  Harvard;  an  uncle, 
Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill; 
while  his  grandson  is  now  a  well-known  physician  of  Boston. 
His  active  participation  in,  and  advocacy  of  the  establishment 
of  hospitals  in  his  early  professional  days,  and  later  in  life  the 
first  public  use  of  anaesthesia  in  surgery  by  him  are  the  events 
which  will  probably  make  his  fame  live  in  history. 

No  less  distinguished  than  their  eastern  contemporaries 
were  some  of  the  western  doctors,  whose  skill  and  process  in 
view  of  their  limited  preparation  and  the  disadvantages  under 
which  they  did  their  work  was  phenomenal.  Until  1817,  there 
was  no  medical  college  west  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  neces- 
sary, therefore,  for  a  medical  student  to  go  to  the  eastern 
cities  or  Europe  to  fit  himself  for  his  profession.  So  great 
was  the  expense  that  few  could  go.  There  were  many  prac- 
titioners in  the  west,  who  had  never  been  within  the  walls  of 
a  medical  college.  The  prevalence  of  slavery  enabled  the  aspir- 
ants to  medical  knowledge  in  the  south  to  have  unusual  ad- 
vantages in  dissecting,  as  the  bodies  of  slaves  were  easily  pro- 
cured for  anatomical  purposes. 

Two  names  stand  out  most  prominently  among  the  early 
western  physicians — those  of  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell  of  Dan- 
ville, Ky.,  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Dudley  of  Lexington,  Ky.  In 
a  setting  of  rugged  pioneer  life  in  the  wilderness,  we  find  Doc- 
tor McDowell,  a  man  of  fine  physique,  unusual  culture,  won- 
derful endurance  and  living  a  life  far  in  advance  of  his  sur- 
roundings. Availing  himself  of  the  limited  opportunities  his 
Kentucky  home  offered  for  a  classical  education,  he  was  then 


William  Henry  Wishard  261 

sent  to  his  father's  old  home  in  Virginia  and  there  spent  two 
years  with  the  preceptor  under  whose  direction  his  father  had 
placed  him.  Failing  to  accomplish  what  his  father  had  hoped 
he  would,  due  probably  to  the  inability  of  his  preceptor  to 
guide  and  inspire  him,  he  was  sent  to  Edinburgh  at  a  time 
when  the  old  Scottish  school  was  very  strong,  and  there  he  be- 
came aroused  to  do  his  best.  As  a  private  student  of  John 
Bell,  who  was  renowned  as  a  teacher  and  surgeon,  he  was  en- 
thused with  a  love  of  his  work  which  ever  afterward  charac- 
terized him.  Returning  to  his  old  home  in  Kentucky,  after 
less  than  two  years'  study  abroad  and  without  his  degree, 
which  was  then  the  possession  of  but  few  physicians,  he  was 
soon  busy  with  a  practice  which  absorbed  his  entire  time.  His 
reputation  spread  and  for  some  years  he  was  the  only  surgeon 
in  that  region  of  the  country.  Doctor  McDowell  was  the  first 
surgeon  in  the  world  to  perform  the  operation  for  ovariot- 
omy. When  he  was  consulted  by  a  patient,  who  was  the  vic- 
tim of  an  ovarian  tumor,  he  found  the  opportunity  for  doing 
what  the  teachings  of  Bell  had  led  him  to  believe  could  be  done. 
His  patient  drove  sixty  miles  and  was  operated  upon  at  Doc- 
tor McDowell's  house,  the  only  preparation  made  being  a  large 
dose  of  opium.  Not  until  he  had  operated  three  times  suc- 
cessfully, did  he  make  any  report  for  the  benefit  of  the  profes- 
sion, and  then,  when  published,  it  was  received  with  many  ex- 
pressions of  disbelief.  Twelve  years  later,  Dr.  Nathan  Smith, 
of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  not  knowing  of  Doctor  McDowell's 
original  operation,  performed  a  similar  one  which  he  claimed 
to  be  the  first.  In  his  report  of  the  case,  after  describing  the 
various  steps  of  the  operation,  Doctor  Smith  said :  "By  con- 
tinuing to  pull  out  the  sac  the  ovarian  ligament  was  brought 
out;  this  was  cut  off,  two  small  arteries  secured  with  leather 
ligatures  and  the  ligament  was  then  returned.  The  incision 
was  closed  with  adhesive  plaster  and  the  bandage  was  applied. 


262  William  Henry  Wishard 

No  unfavorable  symptoms  occurred  after  the  operation.  In 
three  weeks  the  patient  was  able  to  sit  up  and  walk  and  has 
since  perfectly  recovered." 

Doctor  Dudley's  early  preparations  for  his  professional  life 
v/ere  superior  to  those  of  Doctor  McDowell.  His  name  will 
live  in  history  as  the  first  great  teacher  of  surgery  in  the  west. 
At  an  early  age  he  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  in  two  years 
he  completed  the  course  and  received  his  diploma.  Returning 
to  Lexington,  he  pursued  his  profession  and  also  engaged  in 
trading,  thus  enabling  him  at  the  end  of  four  years  to  fulfil 
his  cherished  and  determined  plan  to  go  abroad  for  study. 
Remaining  in  Paris  for  more  than  three  years,  he  became  an 
earnest  student  under  Baron  Larrey,  whose  teachings  made  a 
marked  impression  upon  him.  So  thoroughly  did  Doctor  Dud- 
ley assimilate  the  French  manners,  that  he  retained  them 
throughout  life.  However,  he  had  a  greater  admiration  for 
the  English  surgeons  than  the  French,  and  followed  the  for- 
mer in  his  practice.  When  he  settled  in  Lexington,  he  at  once 
became  known  for  his  superior  ability  and  skill.  So  absorbed 
did  he  become  in  his  profession  that  it  is  said  he  had  no  time 
or  desire  for  anything  outside  of  it,  not  even  literature,  travel 
or  recreation.  As  a  general  practitioner,  he  was  not  consid- 
ered unusual,  but  as  a  surgeon,  he  was  admired  and  looked  up 
to  by  all.  As  a  lithotomist  he  was  without  a  peer  in  his  day. 
During  his  active  professional  life  of  more  than  forty  years 
he  cut  for  stones  in  the  bladder  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
times  and  in  the  first  one  hundred  cases  there  was  not  a  death. 
As  one  of  the  faculty  of  the  medical  department  of  the  Tran- 
sylvania University  he  won  distinction  as  a  lecturer.  Liv- 
ing for  twenty  years  in  retirement.  Doctor  Dudley  died  in 
1870,  aged  eighty-five,  almost  unknown  to  the  profession  at 
that  time. 

As  local  men,  we  may  well  be  proud  of  the  fame  and  he- 


William  Henry  Wish^vrd  263 

roic  work  done  by  our  own  Dr.  John  S.  Bobbs,  whose  name 
and  memory  are  dear  to  all  who  knew  him.  Locating  in  In- 
dianapoHs  in  1835,  his  strong  personaHty  and  superior  fitness, 
supplemented  by  training  and  skill,  soon  made  him  a  potent 
factor  and  leader  in  the  professioudl  life  of  his  time.  He 
helped  to  build  the  strong  foundations  upon  which  we  stand 
today.  He  served  with  conspicuous  ability  and  heroism  in  the 
civil  war.  As  president  of  the  state  society,  in  1868,  he  dwelt 
upon  and  advocated  the  need  of  a  medical  college  in  Indianap- 
olis, and  a  medical  journal.  Today  his  name  stands  secure  in 
history  as  the  first  surgeon  to  perform  the  operation  for  gall 
stones. 

The  story  of  that  operation  is  a  fascinating  one  and  was 
told  by  Doctor  Bobbs  as  modestly  as  if  he  had  done  any  ordi- 
nary piece  of  surgery.  It  was  performed  June  15,  1867,  and 
witnessed  by  Drs.  G.  W.  Hears,  R.  N.  Todd,  D.  H.  Oliver, 
F.  S.  Newcomer  and  John  P.  Avery.  His  patient,  a  woman 
of  thirty,  then  a  resident  of  this  county,  is  now  living  at  Fort- 
ville,  and  within  the  past  year  was  seen  by  a  group  of  Indianap- 
olis physicians  and  surgeons,  and  described  by  one  of  them, 
who  said  they  were  "all  happy  to  see  the  patient  and  hear  from 
her  own  lips  the  story  of  that  day — the  group  of  interested 
professional  friends,  the  pastor's  prayer,  the  anaesthesia,  and 
then  the  thirty-two  stones  removed.  Of  course,  she  is  sure 
there  was  one  left  which  has  worried  her  somewhat  mentally, 
although  she  has  been  a  buxom  housewife  for  nearly  forty 
years  since  the  operation."  This  case  has  now  become  a  mat- 
ter of  permanent  record  in  the  Indiatm  Medical  Journal,  in  the 
Johns  llopkim  Hospital  Bidlctin,  in  Wood's  Reference  Hand- 
book, and  in  all  modern  articles  in  which  cholecystotomy  is 
historically  considered.  Doctor  Bobbs  died  May  1,  1870,  hon- 
ored by  all  who  knew  him  and  bearing  a  reputation  that  will 
ever  reflect  glory  upon  the  profession  of  this  state. 


264  William  Henry  Wishard 

It  is  beyond  the  power  of  any  writer  to  define  adequately 
the  untold  benefit  to  suffering  humanity  that  the  discovery  and 
introduction  of  anaesthetics  have  brought.  The  names  of 
Simpson  and  Morton  should  be  hailed  as  noble  benefactors 
of  the  world.  The  former  a  Scotsman,  the  discoverer  of 
chloroform,  and  the  latter  a  Boston  dentist  whose  scientific 
research  gave  ether  to  alleviate  pain.  The  great  strides  in 
surgery  followed  their  discoveries,  and  thirty  years  later  asep- 
sis became  recognized  as  a  necessary  adjunct  for  the  comple- 
tion of  the  best  surgical  work.  Despite  the  strong  testimony  re- 
ceived by  the  profession  everywhere,  as  to  the  real  worth  and 
expediency  of  the  use  of  anaesthetics,  immediately  after  its 
first  trial  there  were  still  doubtful  ones,  those  who  were  slow 
to  believe  all  that  was  told  of  it.  In  1850,  the  Indiana  State 
Medical  Society  appointed  a  committee  of  six  to  investigate 
the  use  of  anaesthetics  and  report  a  year  later.  Through  its 
chairman.  Doctor  Davidson,  of  Madison,  the  committee  gave 
a  hearty  and  enthusiastic  endorsement  of  its  value  in  surgery 
and  obstetrics,  which  had  much  to  do  with  its  rapid  employ- 
ment by  physicians  in  Indiana. 

One  evident  outgrowth  of  the  use  of  anaesthetics  has  been  the 
division  of  the  profession  into  specialties.  The  different  depart- 
ments of  medicine  opened  fields  so  wide  that  to  attain  the  high- 
est results  in  each  one  physicians  have  entered  various  special- 
ties, thus  giving  the  general  practitioner  fewer  diseases  to 
compass  in  his  daily  practice,  and  upon  these  he  can  bestow 
greater  attention,  thus  accomplishing  results  that  swell  the  total 
achievements  of  the  entire  profession.  This  growth  and  divi- 
sion have  been  brought  about  in  the  face  of  strong  opposition, 
and  not  alone  from  individuals ;  for  more  than  forty  years  con- 
certed action  was  taken  to  have  the  American  Medical  Associ- 
ation discourage  this  forward  movement  in  the  progress  of 
medicine,  but  the  effort  proved  futile.  Thus  w^e  see  the  passing 


William  Henry  Wishard  265 

away  of  the  old-time  practitioner,  but  let  us  hope  that  there  will 
still  remain  those  who  will  take  his  place  as  family  counselor,  as 
well  as  family  doctor,  in  the  new  order  of  things.  The  joy  and 
satisfaction  that  come  to  those  who  minister  to  the  wives  and 
children,  thus  gaining  an  entrance  into  their  lives  and  confi- 
dence, which  is  the  portion  of  a  family  doctor,  are  too  great 
to  be  lost  by  all  who  enter  the  healing  art. 

In  this  hasty  survey  of  the  pioneer  physicians  of  our  coun- 
try it  is  impossible  to  dwell  upon  the  lives  and  work  of  many 
who  were  well  known  for  their  earnest  efforts  to  promote 
the  interests  both  in  the  east  and  west.  The  majority  of  the 
frontier  doctors  had  little,  if  any,  opportunity  for  acquiring 
professional  knowledge.  Industry,  perseverance  and  faithful- 
ness to  their  calling  dominated  their  lives.  Their  materia 
medica  was  limited  to  emetics,  cathartics,  diaphoretics,  blisters 
and  the  lancet.  Tonics  consisted  of  iron,  "bitters,"  and  Peru- 
vian bark.  They  made  their  own  expectorants,  tinctures,  and 
compounded  all  their  own  medicines.  Arterial  sedatives,  nerve 
tonics,  or  tablets  in  any  form  were  unknown.  Their  practice 
was  not  limited  to  any  one  specialty,  for  each  one  included 
surgery,  obstetrics,  the  eye  and  all  diseases,  medical  or  sur- 
gical, in  his  general  practice.  The  surgeon  was  called  only  in 
major  surgical  cases.  No  laws  existed  then  for  the  care  of 
the  poor,  and  the  doctor  was  expected  to  face  the  winter 
blasts,  summer  heat,  rain  and  storms,  as  promptly  for  the  in- 
digent as  he  did  for  the  independent.  None  of  the  modern 
appliances  were  in  use  for  surgical  and  medical  treatment. 
Chloroform,  ether,  fever  thermometers,  hypodermics  and  anti- 
septics were  not  dreamed  of.  Modern  pharmacy  and  chem- 
istry have  supplied  the  profession  with  valual)le  remedial 
agents,  unknown  to  the  earlier  physicians,  and  the  microscope 
has  settled  pathological  questions  that  mystified  the  wisest  of 
them. 


266  William  Henry  Wishard 

The  initiative  in  providing  an  institution  for  the  care  of  the 
insane  of  this  state  was  made  by  members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession. In  1832  the  question  was  before  the  legislature  but 
no  action  was  taken  that  looked  to  the  erection  of  an  asylum. 
In  1844  Dr.  W.  S.  Cornett,  of  Versailles,  a  member  of  the 
state  senate,  moved  an  amendment  to  the  revenue  bill,  which 
would  thus  provide  the  necessary  funds  for  the  erection  and 
maintenance  of  the  asylum.  Dr.  James  Richey,  of  Johnson 
county,  a  member  of  the  lower  house,  was  on  the  committee 
having  the  bill  in  charge  and  made  an  able  report  urging 
prompt  action.  This  report  was  published  in  pamphlet  form 
and  sent  to  all  physicians  in  the  state  and  endorsed  by  the 
western  medical  journals.  So  efficiently  has  this  work  of 
providing  treatment  and  protection  for  the  unfortunate  class 
committed  to  the  asylums  been  managed,  that  Indiana  now 
has  four  hospitals  for  the  insane  with  a  total  of  over  4,000  pa- 
tients. Through  the  agitation  begun  by  the  physicians,  the 
management  of  all  public  institutions  has  been  placed  on  a  non- 
partisan basis,  thus  giving  to  these  unfortunate  wards  a  care 
and  protection  they  did  not  receive  when  the  political  spoils 
system,  rather  than  professional  and  business  qualifications, 
placed  in  position  those  who  had  charge  of  these  institutions. 

The  profession  of  medicine  has  been  the  great  leader  in  all 
sanitary  measures  and  reforms.  The  first  striking  incident  in 
this  country,  showing  the  astounding  results  following  an  in- 
vestigation, and  vigorous  steps  to  counteract  the  fatalities  fol- 
lowing in  the  wake  of  an  epidemic,  was  in  1832,  when  cholera 
spread  throughout  the  country,  raging  to  a  fearful  extent  in 
the  coast  towns.  In  New  York  3,000  died  and  the  city  was 
almost  deserted.  Before  cholera  reached  Boston,  the  authori- 
ties determined  to  protect  the  city  at  any  cost.  A  strict  quaran- 
tine was  enforced  and  three  physicians  volunteered  their  serv- 
ices and  went  to  investigate  the  conditions  of  the  stricken  city. 


William  Henry  Wishard  267 

These  Boston  doctors — Bigelow,  Flint  and  Ware — found  con- 
ditions so  terrible  that  the  report  they  made  to  the  mayor  of 
Boston  was  withheld  from  publication  lest  the  community 
might  become  panic-stricken;  but  their  recommendations 
proved  valuable  in  that  the  disease  was  largely  controlled  and 
only  one  hundred  deaths  occurred — a  small  number  when  com- 
pared with  New  York  and  other  towns.  Thus,  this  country 
had  its  first  great  object-lesson  in  the  efficacy  of  sanitary  laws, 
which  have  been  steadily  pushed  forward  until  today  the  world 
is  indebted  to  the  profession  for  untold  protection  from  infec- 
tious diseases,  and  "the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness 
and  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noon  day." 

Little  does  the  laity  comprehend  its  obligation  to  the  medical 
fraternity  for  the  aggressive  and  effective  battles  that  have 
been  waged  against  conditions  which  have  promoted  the 
spread  of  diseases  and  maladies  of  all  kinds.  In  this  partic- 
ular work,  the  true  and  magnanimous  spirit  that  actuates  and 
energizes  the  profession  is  apparent  to  a  degree  not  evident 
perhaps  in  the  daily  practice  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  pro- 
fession. Laws  have  l^een  enacted,  quarantines  established,  and 
the  simple  rules  of  sanitation  spread  broadcast,  so  that  the 
public  is  now  l^eing  educated  in  a  practical  way  that  foretells  a 
decrease  and  control  of  disease  heretofore  unknown.  Though 
this  may  mean  less  revenue  for  the  doctors,  it  means  greater 
laurels  for  them  in  the  future.  In  the  face  of  facts  so  con- 
clusive that  it  is  hard  to  understand  how  any  sane  man  can 
ignore  the  force  of  them,  we  still  find  some  people  denouncing 
vaccination  and  refusing  the  protection  and  safeguard  it  and 
other  preventive  measures  offer. 

Wonderful  have  been  the  changes  in  the  last  century  and 
gradual  the  evolution  that  has  made  the  calling  of  the  physi- 
cian far  more  useful  and  thorough  than  that  of  his  earlier 
predecessors.    As  the  doctors  of  today  have  advanced  and  en- 


268  William  Henry  Wishard 

larged  upon  the  methods  used  by  the  profession  of  fifty  years 
ago,  so  will  the  coming  generation  and  their  successors  drift 
from  the  lines  we  have  followed.  Fruitful  has  been  the  past, 
active,  ambitious  and  efficacious  is  the  present,  and  we  believe 
the  future  will  give  the  noble  profession  of  medicine  a  place 
of  strength  and  power  in  the  world  that  it  has  not  yet  exer- 
cised. No  "isms"  or  false  teachings  can  mar  its  splendor  or 
check  its  progress. 


SOME  PERSONAL  ARMY  EXPERIENCES* 

WHEN  the  call  for  volunteer^^  was  first  issued,  I  was 
past  the  age  limit  for  service  in  the  civil  war,  and 
thought  there  was  no  probability  of  being  called  upon  to  re- 
port for  duty  at  the  front.  Feeling  that  my  patriotism  was 
to  be  shown  by  professionally  administering  to  the  families  of 
those  who  were  fighting  at  the  storm  centers,  I  offered  to  give 
such  attention  gratuitously.  To  an  amazing  extent  my  prac- 
tice increased  until  one-third  or  more  of  my  time  was  given 
to  the  wives  and  children  of  soldiers  and  those  who  returned 
disabled. 

In  March,  1862,  I  was  summoned  by  Governor  Morton  to 
an  interview  in  his  office,  and  there  he  offered  me  a  position 
as  regimental  surgeon,  but  for  domestic  reasons  I  was  unable 
to  accept  any  position  that  would  take  me  away  for  an  in- 
definite or  prolonged  stay,  but  I  told  him  I  would  gladly  ren- 
der any  emergency  service  at  home  or  on  the  battle-field. 
Therefore  he  requested  me  to  go  to  Pittsburg  Landing  and 
remain  during  the  siege  of  Corinth,  for  any  special  service  I 
might  be  called  upon  to  render,  assigning  me  to  no  regiment, 
but  leaving  me  free  to  go  where  there  seemed  to  be  the  great- 
est need.  Upon  my  arrival  I  found  that  the  Fifty-ninth  Indi- 
ana regiment,  Colonel  Alexander  commanding,  with  Dr.  Dud- 
ley Rogers,  formerly  of  Bloomington,  Ind.,  as  surgeon,  was 
short  of  medical  officers,  and  I  immediately  began  my  work  in 
that  regiment.  There  was  no  hospital  tent,  and  the  regiment 
was  lacking  necessary  equipment  for  caring  for  the  sick  and 
wounded.  With  Doctor  Rogers'  permission,  I  took  an  ambu- 
lance and,  going  to  Indiana  sanitary  headquarters  at  Pittsburg 


•  Read  before  the  Indianapolia  Medical  Society  January  9.  1906,  at  a  mcclinR  de- 
voted to  Civil  War  reminiscences  by  the  veterans  of  the  society  who  had  served  in 
the  war. 

269 


270  William  Henry  Wishard 

Landing,  procured  the  necessary  tent  and  other  supplies  needed 
for  increasing  the  hospital  facilities. 

We  were  skirmishing  with  the  enemy  every  day,  and  the 
means  for  caring  for  the  disabled  were  constantly  called  into 
use;  but  there  was  no  battle  until  we  got  within  six  miles  of 
Corinth,  where  an  encounter  with  General  Price  occurred  and 
a  large  number  were  wounded  and  some  killed.  In  this  en- 
gagement the  Second  Iowa  cavalry  captured  a  confederate 
battery,  and  although  many  of  the  cavalrymen  had  their  horses 
shot  from  under  them,  and  some  were  wounded  in  the  legs, 
none  were  killed.  By  May  30  Corinth  was  completely  va- 
cated and  the  prescribed  work  for  which  I  was  sent  south  being 
completed,  I  returned,  reaching  home  early  in  June. 

In  February,  1863,  I  was  one  of  a  number  of  physicians 
commissioned  to  go  to  Vicksburg  under  direction  of  Doctor 
Brower,  of  Lawrenceburg,  Ind.  We  were  told  to  stop  at  Mem- 
phis and  obtain  the  names  of  all  Indiana  soldiers  in  the  hos- 
pital there,  ascertain  the  number  of  their  regiments  and  com- 
panies, and  the  character  and  extent  of  their  illness.  Being 
one  of  the  examining  surgeons,  I  had  assigned  to  me  as  my 
clerk  Doctor  Ayres,  of  Fort  Wayne,  who  is  now  an  oculist  of 
Cincinnati.  This  work  being  finished,  we  proceeded  to  Vicks- 
burg, where  I  found  my  assignment  was  to  be  with  the  Twen- 
ty-second Indiana  regiment;  but  as  that  regiment  was  already 
well  provided  for  in  a  professional  way,  I  reported  to  Doctor 
Brower  for  service  elsewhere.  He  told  me  that  the  Eighty- 
third  Indiana  regiment,  comm.anded  by  Colonel  Spooner,  was 
in  need  of  additional  medical  help,  and  I  at  once  took  service 
with  that  regiment.  Doctor  Davis,  the  surgeon,  was  somewhat 
advanced  in  years,  and  Doctor  Gillespie,  his  first  assistant, 
had  been  assigned  to  duty  at  Pawpaw  Island  at  the  smallpox 
camp.     Doctor  Vinson,  the  second  assistant,  had  gone  with 


William  Hexey  Wishard  271 

the  greater  part  of  the  regiment,  which  had  been  sent  up  the 
Yazoo  river  on  an  expedition,  and  I  was  left  in  charge. 

When  Doctor  Vinson  returned  with  the  Eighty-third  regi- 
ment from  the  Yazoo  river  trip  he  was  so  ill  that  it  was 
deemed  necessary  for  him  to  return  north.  The  corps  surgeon 
being  applied  to  for  a  furlough,  after  the  endorsement  of  the 
regiment,  brigade  and  division  surgeons  had  l>een  obtained  for 
Doctor  Vinson,  he  refused  to  issue  it,  saying  if  he  were  un- 
able to  perform  his  duties  he  should  resign  and  another  would 
be  appointed  in  his  place.  To  this  proposition  Colonel  Spooner 
objected,  saying  Doctor  Vinson  was  an  able  officer  and  he  was 
unwilling  to  lose  his  services  permanently.  I  then  asked  Col- 
onel Spooner  to  give  me  the  recommendations  of  the  regi- 
mental and  brigade  surgeons  that  I  might  apply  to  headquar- 
ters for  Doctor  Vinson's  furlough.  To  this  request  the  colonel 
gave  a  sarcastic  chuckle  and  asked  how  I,  a  volunteer  surgeon, 
could  obtain  an  order  in  preference  to  himself,  the  command- 
ing officer. 

In  this  connection  I  might  say  that  in  the  beginning  of  my 
war  experiences  I  met  my  old  friend  Doctor  Rusk,  of  Galena, 
111.,  who  was  an  old  friend  of  Adjutant-General  Rawlins.  He 
inquired  if  I  knew  the  general,  and  when  I  told  him  I  did  not 
he  kindly  offered  to  introduce  me  to  him,  saying  to  General 
Rawlins  that  if  he  could  render  me  any  favor  while  I  was  in 
the  service  he  would  consider  himself  personally  indebted  to 
him,  I  found  General  Rawlins  ready  to  listen,  considerate 
and  obliging,  and  instead  of  running  the  gauntlet  of  prescril^ed 
army  rules,  I  went  direct  to  the  chief  source  of  authority  and 
never  failed  to  have  my  requests  granted. 

I  found  it  an  easy  matter  to  obtain  the  furlough,  and  that 
night  started  on  the  homeward  trip  with  Doctor  Vinson  as 
one  of  my  charges.     I  brought  him  on  the  steamer  Capitola, 


272  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  which  boat  I  had  charge,  and  on  which  I  brought  home 
many  sick  and  wounded  Indiana  soldiers.  The  doctor  was  a 
very  sick  man,  and  I  was  glad  to  get  him  safely  home,  where 
he  was  immediately  put  in  the  care  of  Doctor  Brower,  who  had 
previously  returned.  After  a  few  days  at  home  I  returned  to 
Vicksburg  and  again  took  service  with  the  Eighty-third  regi- 
ment, some  six  weeks  before  the  surrender. 

Many  interesting  incidents  had  occurred  in  my  experience 
in  the  army  during  this  term  of  service.  General  Grant's 
headquarters  were  within  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of 
the  Eighty-third  regimental  hospital.  While  I  was  standing 
near  General  Grant's  tent  July  3,  1863,  about  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  an  orderly  came  up  in  great  haste  and  handed 
a  message  to  the  sentinel,  who  carried  it  inside.  In  a  moment 
I  heard  General  Grant  say,  "And  so  they  want  to  surrender, 
do  they?" 

The  general  wrote  a  dispatch  and  gave  it  to  the  messenger, 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  the  flag  of  truce  was  run  up  all  along 
the  line  and  firing  ceased.  General  Grant  mounted  his  horse, 
accompanied  by  an  aid  and  an  orderly,  and  met  General  Pem- 
berton  between  the  two  lines  near  Fort  Hill.  General  Grant 
demanded  unconditional  surrender,  to  which  General  Pember- 
ton  objected  without  first  consulting  his  leading  officers  and 
gaining  their  consent.  Late  in  the  afternoon  there  was  an 
occasional  gun  fired  along  the  line.  If  the  surrender  had  not 
been  consummated,  it  was  planned  to  assault  the  enemy's  works 
the  following  day,  July  4.  The  hospital  steward  and  I  sat  up 
until  after  midnight  preparing  bandages  and  necessary  appli- 
ances to  care  for  the  wounded.  Retiring  at  a  late  hour,  we 
were  awakened  soon  after  two  o'clock  by  an  orderly  riding  at 
a  lively  gait  and  blowing  a  trumpet.  He  rushed  to  headquar- 
ters and  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard  at  a  great  distance 
announced  the  acceptance  of  the  terms  of  unconditional  sur- 


HoMKON  FlM<l.()UC;H 


William  Henry  Wishaed  273 

render  by  the  confederates.  The  spirit  of  excitement  and  en- 
thusiasm that  pervaded  the  northern  ranks  was  beyond  de- 
scription. Cheering,  shouting,  and  firing  of  skyrockets  kept 
the  air  boisterous  for  hours.  The  effect  upon  the  sick  was  in- 
stantaneous. Of  the  nearly  thirty  patients  in  the  regimental 
hospital  not  more  than  five  required  medical  attention  the  next 
morning.    The  others  were  ready  to  report  for  duty. 

Orders  Vvcre  given  for  the  confederates  to  go  to  their  works 
at  ten  o'clock,  stack  their  arms,  and  fall  back  into  their  camp, 
while  a  detail  of  our  men  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  their 
weapons  of  defense.  Orders  were  given  that  no  one  should 
pass  the  lines  except  General  Logan's  division,  which  should 
go  in  at  Fort  Hill.  Wishing  to  enter  Vicksburg  before  the 
army  marched  in,  I  donned  citizen's  clothes  and  obtained  a 
pass  from  General  Rawlins  and  went  in  before  the  army  en- 
tered. Being  thus  disguised,  I  mingled  with  the  southerners 
and  heard  many  expressions  of  satisfaction  that  hostilities  had 
ceased.  They  were  poorly  fed,  their  supplies  almost  ex- 
hausted, and  their  general  condition  deplorable.  General  Lo- 
gan's division  marched  in  and  placed  the  flag  on  the  court- 
house, and  when  this  was  done  the  soldiers  surrounded  the 
building  and  sang  with  tremendous  power  and  effect,  "Rally 
'Round  the  Flag,  Boys."  The  confederates  pressed  forward 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  General  Grant,  the  most  unpretentious- 
looking  man  in  the  throng,  absolutely  free  from  any  sugges- 
tion of  pomp  or  display,  his  blue  blouse  and  three  stars  alone 
designating  his  rank. 

At  the  wharf  I  met  Quartermaster-General  Stone  with  the 
l>oat,  City  of  Madison,  which  had  just  arrived  with  a  large 
supply  of  sanitary  goods.  Engaging  my  passage  for  the  re- 
turn trip,  I  then  invited  the  quartermaster  out  to  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Eighty-third  regiment,  and  while  walking  along 
he  inquired  if  I  knew  the  surgeon-general  on  Grant's  staff.     I 


274  William  Henry  Wishaed 

replied  that  I  did  not,  but  that  his  reputation  for  insulting 
those  of  the  volunteer  service  who  had  occasion  to  call  upon 
him  was  such  that  he  had  made  himself  exceedingly  unpop- 
ular. General  Stone  stated  that  he  would  seek  an  interview 
with  him  to  ascertain  the  number  of  sick  and  wounded  in  that 
department,  that  he  might  procure  an  order  for  the  removal 
home  of  disabled  Indiana  soldiers.  I  went  with  him  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  surgeon-general  and  stepped  aside  while 
he  approached  him  and  gave  him  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Governor  Morton,  the  purport  of  which  he  had  given  me  in  the 
above  conversation.  After  reading  it  the  surgeon-general 
haughtily  replied,  "Present  my  compliments  to  Governor  Mor- 
ton and  tell  him  we  are  thoroughly  equipped  for  transporting 
all  soldiers  north  and  are  capable  of  running  the  army  without 
his  assistance  or  advice,"  and,  going  into  his  tent,  returned 
Governor  Morton's  letter.  General  Stone  expressed  his  disap- 
pointment that  he  had  been  defeated  in  the  chief  object  of  his 
trip  south  and  must  return  w^ithout  the  coveted  list  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  for  Governor  Morton.  I  explained  to  him  that 
if  he  could  remain  a  couple  of  days  longer  I  would  accompany 
him  to  the  field  hospitals  and  we  could  obtain  a  list  from  each 
of  them;  that  would  give  him  the  information  he  desired.  We 
did  this  and  started  up  the  Mississippi  river,  stopping  at  Mil- 
ligan's  Bend  to  visit  the  Van  Buren  hospital. 

After  procuring  the  list  of  the  sick  and  wounded  at  this 
hospital  I  asked  the  privilege  of  bringing  home  the  body  of 
Doctor  Elliott,  of  Thorntown,  who  died  at  seven  o'clock  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  our  arrival.  The  surgeon  in  charge 
told  me  that  at  that  hour,  twelve  o'clock  noon,  the  soldiers 
were  burying  the  body  of  Doctor  Elliott  and  that  I  could  not 
obtain  his  remains,  and,  moreover,  said  that  the  doctor  had 
been  on  duty  only  three  weeks  as  a  contract  surgeon  and  he 
did  not  intend  to  report  him  as  having  been  in  servnce.    Meet- 


WiLLLVM  Henry  Wishard  275 

ing  the  soldiers  on  their  way  from  the  burial,  I  asked  them  if 
they  would  go  with  me  to  the  grave  and  take  up  the  body, 
that  I  might  retura  it  to  Doctor  Elliott's  family.  They  gladly 
consented,  and  without  the  knowledge  of  the  surgeon  we  placed 
it  on  the  boat.  At  Memphis  and  Helena  we  took  other  soldiers 
on  board  and  by  the  time  we  arrived  at  Evansville  some  of  our 
patients  were  so  ill  that  we  had  to  leave  them  in  the  hospital 
in  that  city.  Those  who  were  able  to  continue  their  traveling 
were  sent  to  their  homes. 

Upon  our  return  General  Stone  and  I  visited  Governor 
Morton  and  gave  him  the  information  we  had  gathered  per- 
taining to  the  disabled  Indiana  soldiers,  also  relating  the 
treatment  General  Stone  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  sur- 
geon-general. 

Within  a  day  or  two  Governor  Morton  started  to  Washing- 
ton to  obtain  an  order  for  the  removal  of  these  soldiers  home, 
but  the  request  was  refused  him  by  Secretary  of  War  Stanton. 
Governor  Morton  told  him  he  would  get  that  order  before  he 
left  Washington  or  the  country  at  large  would  know  of  the 
neglected  condition  of  the  northern  troops  in  the  south. 

When  the  matter  was  laid  before  President  Lincoln,  he 
called  a  meeting  of  the  cabinet,  which  was  attended  by  Gover- 
nor Morton,  who  gave  a  full  report  of  the  true  conditions  as 
they  existed.  Surgeon-General  Barnes  was  sent  for  to  verify 
or  deny  the  statements  made  by  Governor  Morton.  His  re- 
port so  nearly  agreed  with  the  list  I  had  prepared  and  which 
was  presented  by  the  governor,  that  there  was  a  difYerence  of 
not  more  than  three  per  cent  in  the  total. 

Addressing  the  secretary  of  war,  President  Lincoln  said 
that  such  a  condition  must  not  be  permitted  to  remain  longer. 
and  to  overcome  it,  he  (the  secretary)  must  issue  a  general 
order  for  the  removal  home  of  all  disabled  soldiers,  inviting 
the  governors  of  the  states  which  had  troops  in  that  depart- 


276  William  Henry  Wishard 

merit  to  assist,  and  if  they  failed  to  respond,  the  fault  would 
be  theirs  and  not  that  of  the  government. 

Governor  Morton  immediately  telegraphed  to  those  in  au- 
thority to  equip  a  boat  to  send  south  for  the  removal  of  Indi- 
ana soldiers.  The  Sunnyside  was  chartered,  and  I  was  placed 
in  charge  of  it,  the  first  boat  to  go  specially  commissioned  un- 
der the  new  order. 

Upon  reaching  Evansville,  where  we  took  on  supplies,  I 
found  the  necessary  papers  had  not  been  sent  to  me  from  the 
adjutant-general's  office.  Fortunately,  the  Commercial  Ga- 
zette of  Cincinnati  had  two  days  previously  announced  that 
the  Sunnyside  would  be  the  first  boat  to  go  down  the  river 
authorized  to  bring  home  disabled  soldiers,  and  with  the 
knowledge  that  this  information  had  preceded  me,  I  started 
without  the  required  legal  documents.  At  Cairo,  111.,  Commo- 
dore Porter  took  one  of  my  pilots  for  his  gunboats,  thus  re- 
ducing the  progress  of  the  boat  by  half,  and  compelling  us  to 
run  by  day  only.  I  appealed  to  Governor  Beau  ford,  who  out- 
ranked Commodore  Porter  in  authority,  and  he  decided  in  my 
favor,  and  we  were  able  to  proceed  uninterrupted  on  our 
journey.  We  stopped  at  all  important  places,  where  messages 
were  left  as  to  the  probable  return  of  the  boat,  when  the  sol- 
diers would  be  ready  for  the  homeward  trip.  We  went  as 
far  south  as  Natchez,  where  General  Gresham  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  fort.  I  left  two  nurses  and  a  quantity  of  hos- 
pital supplies  with  him. 

At  Vicksburg  a  large  number  of  men  were  taken  aboard 
and  there  I  asked  General  Rawlins  for  an  order  directing  the 
physicians  at  the  different  posts  to  deliver  the  soldiers  who 
were  to  be  transported  without  delay.  He  granted  my  re- 
quest and  laughingly  said  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  seen 
a  doctor  in  the  army  in  a  hurry. 

The  surgeon  at  Milligan's  Bend  declined  in  a  very  rude 


William  Henry  Wishaud  277 

manner  to  comply  with  Qiy  request  upon  arrival  there  at  early 
dawn,  saying  if  I  would  return  after  nine  o'clock  he  would 
listen  to  me.  I  then  went  to  the  hospitals  and  announced  the 
object  of  my  visit  and  that  I  was  prepared  to  take  home  all 
Indiana  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  who  could  travel.  After 
twenty-five  or  thirty  soldiers  were  transferred  to  the  boat  I 
received  a  message  from  the  surgeon  saying  that  unless  I  de- 
sisted he  would  have  me  arrested.  I  sent  back  word  to  him 
that  if  he  interfered  with  me  I  would  have  him  arrested.  He 
forthwith  came  to  the  boat  and  demanded  by  what  authority 
I  was  taking  his  men  without  his  permission.  I  at  once  showed 
him  my  order,  signed  by  General  Grant,  and  with  a  sudden 
change  of  demeanor  he  replied  that  he  had  never  seen  such 
an  order  as  that  before. 

At  Memphis  and  near  Helena  the  boat  took  fire  and  would 
probably  have  been  destroyed  had  it  not  been  for  a  dozen 
strong-bodied  paroled  prisoners  who  were  able  successfully  to 
combat  the  flames. 

At  Cairo  we  were  compelled  to  leave  the  boat,  owing  to  the 
low  water,  and  chartered  a  train  made  up  of  box  cars.  They 
were  cleaned  and  hastily  prepared  as  best  they  could  be  for  the 
soldiers,  and  upon  arrival  in  Indianapolis  the  men  were  sent 
to  their  homes  or  the  hospitals. 

During  the  siege  at  Nashville,  in  the  winter  of  1862  and 
1863,  I  was  ordered  to  that  city,  and  when  I  arrived  the  con- 
federate army  was  retreating,  and  I  followed  it  as  far  south 
as  Duck  river,  but  finding  there  was  no  need  of  my  services, 
I  returned  home,  bringing  with  me  the  body  of  Lieutenant 
Bristow,  of  the  Ninth  Indiana  cavalry,  who  had  been  killed  at 
that  point. 

After  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  I  was  directed  by  Gov- 
ernor Morton  to  go  and  look  after  Indiana  men  as  far  as 
Wilmington,  N.  C.    I  first  stopped  in  Washington  and  pro- 


278  William  Henry  Wishaud 

cured  from  the  war  department  the  necessary  papers  which  en- 
abled me  to  accomplish  my  mission.  Starting  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  I  visited  various  hospitals  until  within  seventy-five 
miles  of  Wilmington.  I  stopped  with  Dr.  J.  R.  Wiest,  late  of 
Richmond,  Ind.,  at  a  large  hospital  which  was  occupying  the 
buildings  of  a  female  college.  From  that  point  we  sent  a 
large  number  of  soldiers  to  Wilmington  for  transportation 
home.  At  the  latter  point  I  went  to  the  transportation  office 
to  ascertain  if  any  Indiana  soldiers  had  perished  on  the  steamer 
General  Lyon,  which  was  lost  on  the  trip  around  Cape  Hat- 
teras.  Being  denied  the  privilege  of  looking  over  the  list  of 
passengers,  I  appealed  to  General  Hawley,  who  gave  me  an 
order  calling  for  an  examination  of  the  entire  list  of  those 
aboard  that  steamer.  I  found  but  one  Indiana  man  was  miss- 
ing, but  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  Illinois  men  had  thus  been 
sacrificed.  I  received  a  certificate  of  the  facts  from  the  offi- 
cer in  charge,  and  after  my  return  home  sent  a  copy  with  my 
sworn  affidavit  to  the  adjutant-general  of  Illinois. 

I  was  to  be  accompanied  on  my  final  trip  north  by  Mrs. 
George,  of  Fort  Wayne,  who  rendered  conspicuous  service 
as  an  army  nurse.  Being  in  a  feeble  condition,  she  was  anxious 
to  leave,  and  arose  from  her  bed  to  superintend  the  packing 
of  her  trunk.  I  had  left  her  temporarily  to  make  final  ar- 
rangements for  her  comfort  on  the  return  trip,  and  was  amazed 
when  going  back  to  the  house,  to  find  Mrs.  George  had  sud- 
denly, and  without  warning,  expired  from  heart  failure. 

The  return  of  her  body  to  her  family  in  Fort  Wayne  was 
the  last  duty  I  performed  as  a  volunteer  surgeon  during  the 
civil  war. 


REMINISCENCES  RELATED  AT  THE  SEMI- 
CENTENNIAL OF  THE  HOPEWELL 
PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 
MAY  23,  1881 

IT  is  in  very  bad  taste  for  any  man,  who  permits  himself  to 
be  called  upon  to  address  an  audience,  to  apologize,  but 
I  must  say,  taking  into  consideration  the  occasion  and  the 
ability  of  the  men  who  are  around  me,  I  do  feel  very  much 
embarrassed  to  lead  in  these  reminiscent  addresses. 

If  I  had  the  strength  and  ability  of  the  most  intellectual 
men  in  this  audience  I  could  not  do  justice  to  the  subject  on 
this  occasion.  To  review  the  work  that  has  been  done  by 
those  who  planted  this  church,  their  influence  for  good  here 
in  this  community,  and  in  other  communities  where  they  have 
gone  forth  as  individuals  or  in  colonies,  is  beyond  human 
tongue  to  tell ;  and  no  pen  can  describe  what  fifty  years  of 
faith  and  fidelity  to  the  Masters  cause  has  accomplished  for 
time  and  eternity. 

Every  man  lives  a  double  life;  a  life  that  is  visible  and  a 
life  that  is  invisible.  Our  neighbors,  friends  and  enemies  take 
cognizance  of  our  acts,  which  is  the  visible  part  of  our  life, 
and  judge  us  according  to  our  works;  but  the  invisible,  the 
life  within,  God  only  is  capable  of  judging.  What  is  true  of 
individuals  is  true  of  churches.  Today  we  have  been  listening 
to  the  history  of  the  visible  part  of  the  church  from  your  pas- 
tor, when  it  was  organized,  who  have  been  your  ministers, 
who  have  joined  the  church,  who  have  died  in  the  faith,  and 
what  number  have  been  dismissed  to  other  churches.  But  the 
invisible  history  we  will  never  know  in  this  life;  the  trials  of 
pastors  and  people;  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  fathers  and 
mothers  in  Israel  are  known  only  to  our  Heavenly  Father. 

279 


280  William  Henry  Wishaed 

Today  we  will  hear  nothing  on  that  subject.  They,  too, 
passed  through  the  deep  waters  of  affliction  and  all  is  recorded 
in  heaven, 

I  want  to  speak  of  some  remote  influences  that  were  brought 
to  bear  on  the  generation  that  planted  this  church.  We  never 
expect  a  good  crop  unless  we  have  good  seed.  The  glorious 
harvest  you  are  reaping  today  is  owing  to  the  good  seed  that 
was  sown  by  a  generation  that  has  gone  to  its  reward.  There 
once  lived  in  Fairfax  county,  Virginia,  an  humble  mechanic, 
a  wheelwright  by  occupation.  I  need  not  stop  to  tell  the  older 
persons  in  this  congregation  the  value  of  that  branch  of  me- 
chanics to  society,  only  to  say  that  a  wheelwright  was  at  that 
time  indispensable  to  every  community.  In  that  humble  me- 
chanic's home  an  event  took  place  one  hundred  and  three  years 
ago  yesterday  which  had  much  to  do  with  this  church,  as  the 
sequel  will  show. 

There  a  child  was  bom  and  his  name  was  Thomas  Cleland. 
At  four  years  of  age  his  father  moved  to  Maryland,  and 
thence  to  western  Pennsylvania.  There  he  built  a  boat,  put 
into  it  all  his  worldly  goods  and  started  down  the  Ohio  river, 
amid  all  the  perils  that  attended  navigation.  On  that  river  the 
banks  were  infested  with  hostile  Indians,  and  many  a  boat's 
crew  was  captured,  massacred  and  scalped  by  the  red  men  of 
the  forest ;  but  an  overruling  Providence  watched  over  and 
protected  that  precious  household,  and  they  landed  safely  at 
what  is  now  Louisville,  Ky.  Late  in  the  fall  the  father  left 
his  family  and  went  into  the  interior  of  the  state  to  prepare 
a  home  for  them.  After  many  trials  incident  to  a  new  coun- 
try the  family  settled  in  a  log  cabin  in  the  wilderness.  This 
son  went  to  work  clearing  land  and  assisting  his  father  in 
opening  a  farm.  A  frontier  life  in  those  days,  with  the  dan- 
gers of  the  Indians  and  beasts  of  prey  that  roamed  in  the  for- 


William  Henry  Wishard  281 

est,  was  well  calculated  to  develop  all  the  physical  qualities 
requisite  for  daring  and  endurance,  and  such  was  the  case  with 
Thomas  Cleland.  He  was  small  of  stature,  but  a  giant  in 
strength  and  endurance.  For  such  qualities  he  received  the 
name  of  "pine  knot"  and  "jack  screw."  This  child  of  the  for- 
est sought  an  education  and  desired  to  preach  the  gospel,  but 
the  way  seemed  hedged  in.  His  father  died  when  he  was  at 
school;  this  compelled  him  to  return  home  and  look  after  and 
care  for  a  dependent  family,  but  God,  in  His  providence, 
opened  up  the  way,  and  he  entered  the  ministry  at  one  of  the 
darkest  periods  of  the  history  of  our  country.  Ministers  were 
few  and  far  between.  Paine's  "Age  of  Reason"  and  French 
infidelity  were  permeating  our  institutions.  His  ministerial 
duties  called  him  to  visit  Cane  Run  during  the  revival  that 
swept  over  Kentucky  in  1801  and  1802.  Being  a  man  of  ar- 
dent temperament,  great  mental  and  physical  force,  he  caught 
the  fire  that  was  then  spreading  over  the  land.  He  was  one  of 
nature's  orators.  His  burning  eloquence,  fier>'  zeal  and  inci- 
sive logic,  carried  conviction  to  his  hearers.  To  all  his  con- 
verts, he  imparted  some  of  his  own  zeal  and  those  who  came 
into  the  church,  under  his  ministry,  were  truly  rooted  and 
grounded  in  the  faith. 

Now  it  so  happened  in  the  providence  of  God  that  the  Dutch 
colony  from  New  York  and  New  Jersey  which  settled  in  Ken- 
tucky, about  the  year  1790,  and  whose  children  formed  the 
Hopewell  settlement,  were  in  close  proximity  to  this  man's 
field  of  work,  and  by  his  influence  were  brought  into  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  They  were  a  Christian  people  when  they 
came  to  Kentucky,  but  not  Presbyterian.  They  were  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  faith,  but  being  then  without  a  minister  of 
their  own,  they  were  drawn  first  to  the  man,  and  then  to  the 
church  of  Thomas  Cleland.     Rooted  and  grounded  in  Presby- 


282  William  Henry  Wishard 

terianism  by  him,  they  brought  it  with  them  and  planted  it 
here  in  the  woods  of  Johnson  county  and  we,  today,  behold 
the  matured  fruit  of  that  seed,  in  this  church,  whose  fiftieth 
anniversary  we  are  assembled  to  celebrate. 

Nor  is  that  all.  That  same  Virginia  boy  also  built  up  a 
school  of  the  Prophets,  from  which  a  number  of  young  men 
went  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel  with  much  of  his  spirit.  I  may 
mention  that  my  father-in-law,  who  was  one  of  the  ministers 
who  organized  this  church  fifty  years  ago  today,  Rev.  John  R. 
Moreland,  was  also  one  of  the  students  of  that  school.  Such, 
under  God,  is  the  connection,  in  part,  of  that  Virginia  boy, 
born  in  Fairfax  county,  one  hundred  and  three  years  ago  yes- 
terday, with  this  church  and  the  anniversary  which  we  cele- 
brate today. 

I  was  here  before  you  had  an  organization.  I  was  here 
when  you  occupied  the  old  log  house,  and  again  when  you  oc- 
cupied the  frame  church,  then  the  largest  house  of  worship  in 
the  county.  I  came  here  with  Dr.  Thomas  Cleland  when  he 
preached  the  funeral  of  Daniel  Brewer,  Sr.,  one  of  the  elders 
and  pillars  of  your  church. 

In  looking  around,  I  see  but  a  remnant  of  the  fathers  and 
mothers  who,  under  God,  helped  plant  this  church.  In  yonder 
graveyard  many  of  them  sleep.  To  this  remnant  of  that  no- 
ble band  of  Christian  men  and  women  that  lifted  the  standard 
in  this  then  wilderness  we  can  truly  say  with  the  sacred  poet : 

"A  few  more  years  shall  roll ; 
A  few  more  seasons  come 
And  we  shall  be  with  those  that  rest 
Asleep  within  the  tomb." 

This  morning,  as  I  was  standing  at  the  church  door,  look- 
ing out  on  the  beautiful  landscape  before  me,  I  saw  you 
drive  up  in  your  carriages,  to  the  church,  on  the  gravel  pikes. 


William  Henry  Wishard  288 

I  could  not  but  contrast  your  condition  with  that  of  your  fath- 
ers and  mothers  fifty  years  ago,  when  they  Hved  in  log  cabins 
and  came  up  here  to  worship  in  the  old  log  house,  either  on 
foot  or  on  horseback.  Often  the  father  and  the  larger  children 
came  on  foot,  and  the  mother  on  horseback  with  the  infant 
in  her  lap,  and  the  smaller  children  on  the  same  horse  with 
her — she  wearing  her  home-made  clothing,  and  a  calico  sun- 
bonnet;  the  whole  family  dressed  in  garments  spun,  woven, 
cut  and  made  by  that  faithful  and  frugal  mother. 

The  road  meandered  through  dense  forests,  with  mud  be- 
neath, and  trees  and  brush  overhead ;  on  either  side  there  was 
that  which  tested  both  faith  and  the  flesh. 

They  planted  the  church  and  the  schoolhouse  here,  side  by 
side.  It  showed  their  wisdom,  for  religion  and  education  go 
hand  in  hand,  and  are  the  true  foundations  upon  which  to 
build  a  community  or  a  nation. 

What  shall  I  say  to  you  who  are  today  enjoying  the  bless- 
ings bequeathed  to  you  by  the  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel, 
of  blessed  memory? 

Fifty  years  from  today  there  may  be  a  remnant  of  this  con- 
gregation, with  a  generation  unborn,  who  will  meet  on  this 
hill,  to  celebrate  the  one-hundredth  anniversary  of  this  church. 
Can  as  much  be  said  of  you,  and  your  labors,  as  can  l)e  truth- 
fully said  of  your  fathers? 

Show  yourselves  to  be  worthy  sons  and  daughters  of  your 
fathers  and  mothers,  and  your  children  will  rise  up  and  call 
you  blessed.  I  can  say  no  more  than  Moses  said  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  as  recorded  in  the  fourteenth  cliaptcr  of  Exo- 
dus. "Go  forward,"  though  the  Red  sea  of  affliction  may  be 
l>efore  you.  Enemies  may  press  you  hard  in  the  rear.  "Go 
forward."  Our  God  is  a  covenant  keeping  God.  His  promise 
is  to  us,  and  our  seed  after  us. 

If  you,  and  your  children,  and  your  children's  children  will 


284  William  Henry  Wishaed 

keep  the  faith,  generations  unborn  will  worship  on  this  hill. 
When  that  great  day  shall  come,  the  heavens  will  be  rolled  up 
as  a  scroll,  yonder  sun  shall  be  blotted  out,  and  the  trumpet  of 
the  Archangel  shall  summon  the  nations  of  the  dead  to  come 
forth  to  judgment.  Those  fathers,  who  now  sleep  in  yonder 
graveyard,  will  arise  to  behold  still  standing  here  a  temple 
of  the  Lord. 


HISTORICAL  REMINISCENCES 

Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  of  Greenwood  Presbyterian  Church 
December  ji,  ipoo 

I  FEAR  that  the  present  generation  often  fails  to  do  justice 
to  the  memories  of  our  pioneer  fathers  and  mothers.  Their 
early  opportunities  for  mental  and  moral  training  were  limited, 
compared  with  those  of  the  present  generation,  both  ministers 
and  laity.  Yet  they  possessed  iron  wills  and  moral  courage 
to  overcome  all  obstacles,  and  secured  homes  for  themselves 
and  their  families  in  the  wilderness  of  Indiana.  Of  such  was 
the  manhood  and  moral  worth  of  the  pioneers  of  this  church. 
I  am  a  living  witness  of  the  conflicts  and  trials  they  endured 
in  their  efforts  to  furnish  food  and  raiment  for  their  house- 
holds. 

There  was  another  class  of  pioneers  whose  names  should 
be  written  in  history  in  letters  of  gold,  never  to  fade.  It  was 
the  ministers  of  the  gospel  who  brought  to  the  early  settlers 
and  their  families  the  bread  of  life.  They  entered  the  track- 
less forests  of  Indiana  without  money  or  script,  and  brought 
the  glad  news  of  the  gospel  and  salvation  to  perishing  sinners. 
They  wended  their  way  from  cabin  to  cabin,  and  neighbor- 
hood to  neightorhood,  and  endured  the  summer's  heat  and 
winter's  blast,  preaching  almost  every  day  in  the  week.  Their 
zeal  and  faith  were  worthy  of  all  praise.  Their  style  of 
preaching  might  be  objectionable  to  many  of  the  congregations 
of  today.  They  never  quoted  the  ancient  philosophers,  poets 
or  Shakespeare,  but  made  heavy  drafts  upon  the  writings  of 
the  prophets  and  the  apostles.  They  always  left  their  con- 
gregations wiser  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible.  The  services 
were  held  in  the  cabins  of  the  pioneers  or.  in  good  weather,  in 

285 


286  William  Henry  Wishard 

the  forest.  Their  earnestness  and  native  eloquence  usually 
held  their  audiences  spellbound  for  more  than  an  hour  and  the 
Master  rewarded  their  labors  abundantly. 

Such  were  the  life  and  labors  of  the  Rev.  Archibald  Reed, 
who,  under  God,  organized  this  church  in  the  cabin  of  John 
B.  Smock,  December  31,  1825;  just  seventy-five  years  ago 
today.  Mr.  Reed  came  to  this  state  from  Kentucky  in  1818. 
He  traveled  over  southern  and  central  Indiana  and  organized 
more  churches  than  any  other  man  in  our  denomination.  In 
reading  his  life,  one  is  amazed  at  the  amount  of  his  labor, 
both  mental  and  physical.  He  departed  this  life  June  14,  1858, 
at  Olney,  111.,  thirty-three  years  after  the  organization  of  this 
church,  and  forty  years  after  the  commencement  of  his  labors 
in  this  state. 

I  will  try  to  give  you  my  memories  of  the  early  members 
of  this  church,  both  laity  and  ministers,  beginning  with  the 
Sabbath  school.  It  was  organized  in  the  cabin  of  Garrett 
Brewer,  one  of  the  first  elders  of  this  church,  in  May,  1826,  and 
held  there  every  Sabbath  until  a  log  house  of  worship  was 
erected  during  the  summer  of  1826.  The  Sabbath  school 
met  regularly  in  the  church,  and  has  been  held  regularly  every 
Sabbath  until  the  present  day.  The  first  superintendent  was 
James  Smock,  who  was  the  superintendent  of  the  school  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  February  9,  1830.  Cornelius  Smock 
was  elected  his  successor.  It  is  worthy  of  note  to  say  here, 
that  Cornelius  Smock,  the  second  superintendent,  was  present 
at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  this  church;  also  Thos.  C.  Smock, 
brother  of  Cornelius  Smock,  one  of  the  first  teachers  of  the 
Sabbath  school,  and  John  Brewer,  son  of  Garrett  Brewer,  one 
of  the  first  scholars  of  the  school  organized  at  his  father's 
house.  John  L.  Carson  was  at  that  time  superintendent.  After 
the  removal  of  Cornelius  Smock  in  1839,  John  Q.  Smock  and 
David  Smock  were  elected  as  superintendent  and  assistant  su- 


William  Heney  Wishard  287 

perintendent  until  the  spring  of  1844,  when  I  was  elected  su- 
perintendent, fifty-six  years  ago.  Robert  Todd  was  elected 
assistant  and  William  Todd  librarian. 

I  entered  the  school  as  a  teacher  in  the  summer  of  1842 
and  continued  teaching  until  I  became  superintendent.  The 
officers  were  all  young  men,  warm  personal  friends,  and  took 
hold  of  the  school  in  earnestness  and  had  the  co-operation  of 
every  teacher  and  scholar.  We  had  no  library,  except  a  few 
small  testaments.  I  remember  well  that  the  librarian  would 
come  in  every  Sabbath  morning  with  the  library  tied  up  in  his 
pocket  handkerchief,  and  spread  the  few  books  out  on  the 
little  table  that  was  used  on  Communion  occasions  in  the  old 
church.  The  first  thing  to  look  after  was  to  increase  our  li- 
brary. By  the  close  of  the  year  we  had  increased  the  number 
of  books  to  forty  or  fifty.  In  the  spring  of  1845,  the  same 
officers  were  re-elected  wnth  the  addition  of  James  Parker  as 
secretary,  a  new  office  in  the  school.  At  this  time,  every  fam- 
ily in  the  neighborhood  was  represented  in  the  school,  with 
the  exception  of  one.  Our  library  had  now  grown  much 
larger,  and  our  worthy  librarian,  William  Todd,  had  to  use 
his  largest  handkerchief  and  then  stuff  his  pockets  full  of 
books. 

In  the  month  of  May,  after  the  school  had  been  dismissed, 
the  officers  and  teachers  had  a  consultation,  as  to  what  must 
be  done  to  relieve  the  librarian  of  his  labors.  A  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  the  officers  of  the  school,  to  raise 
means  to  get  a  bookcase  and  table.  We  soon  secured  the 
necessary  amount,  and  Joseph  Brenton  made  the  first  Ixxtk- 
case  for  our  Sabbath  school  library.  We  hunted  up  all  of  the 
old  books  and  purchased  some  new  ones.  That  year  our  li- 
brary was  increased  to  one  hundred  volumes.  The  spring  of 
1846,  the  school  re-elected  the  same  officers.  In  the  nidnth  of 
May,  during  my  attendance  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  As- 


288  William  Henry  Wishaed 

sembly  at  Philadelphia,  I  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Clark  of  that 
city,  and  when  I  took  my  leave,  he  gave  me  $10  to  purchase 
a  library  for  our  Sabbath  school.  On  my  return  home,  I  pur- 
chased from  Doctor  Weed,  of  Cincinnati,  one  hundred  volumes 
of  the  American  Sabbath  School  Union  publications.  There 
were  many  glad  hearts  among  the  children,  when  each  scholar 
could  have  a  new  book  to  read.  We  remembered  Mr.  Clark 
and  thanked  him  for  his  liberal  donation. 

That  year  we  appointed  a  committee  to  recruit  our  school, 
which  visited  all  the  families  in  the  neighborhood,  and  asked 
them  to  send  their  children  to  our  Sabbath  school,  as  we  had 
a  large  library  and  every  facility  for  making  our  school  inter- 
esting and  instructive.  We  had  a  large  increase  in  attendance, 
reorganized  our  school  and  appointed  many  new  teachers, 
especially  young  ladies.  Among  the  number  was  Mrs.  Ann 
Smock,  widow  of  David  Smock;  Elizabeth  Smock,  Ann  Com- 
ingore,  Sarah  Comingore,  Nancy  Jane  Woods,  Mrs.  Robert 
Todd  and  others. 

So  far,  that  was  the  year  of  our  greatest  prosperity.  Up 
to  that  time  we  had  no  Sabbath  school  hymn  books,  but  had 
to  use  the  hymn  books  of  the  church.  We  then  purchased 
hymn  books  published  by  the  American  Sabbath  School  Union. 
In  the  spring  of  1847  our  prospects  for  a  successful  year  were 
all  we  could  ask,  but,  unfortunately  for  the  school,  the  year 
proved  a  disastrous  one.  A  matrimonial  fever  broke  out  and 
was  alarmingly  contagious,  for  we  lost  five  of  our  best  women 
teachers  and  had  but  two  or  three  teachers  left.  Among  that 
number  was  Mrs.  Carson — Aunt  Flora,  as  she  was  lovingly 
called  by  all — who  was  the  widow  of  John  L.  Carson,  a  for- 
mer elder  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  Her 
heart  was  in  the  cause  and  she  had  rare  gifts  of  expression, 
was  well  versed  in  Scripture  and  could  repeat  the  entire  cate- 
chism. In  early  life  she  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  the  cele- 
brated divine,  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield.    She  often  spoke  of 


William  Henry  Wishaed  289 

his  earnestness  and  persuasive  powers  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.  Miss  Angeline  Eckles,  Miss  Sarah  Noble,  Miss  Mary 
and  Miss  Nancy  Comingore,  and  the  Misses  Henry,  and 
others  came  forward  and  took  the  places  of  those  who  had 
been  swept  from  our  midst  by  the  epidemic  of  weddings. 

The  years  from  1848  to  1852  passed  off  without  any  change 
of  unusual  interest.  Mrs.  Cleland,  the  godly  wife  of  our  be- 
loved pastor,  had  taken  a  class,  and  we  had  enlisted  the  older 
persons  of  the  congregation  who  participated  in  the  school. 

The  year  of  1853  was  one  long  to  be  remembered  by  the 
church  and  school.  We  were  building  a  new  church,  the  vil- 
lage had  grown,  and  many  new  families  had  come  to  it.  The 
Methodist  church  had  been  organized  in  1850,  and  later  or- 
ganized a  Sabbath  school  in  the  old  Baptist  church.  The  great 
distance  to  our  school  and  the  bad  state  of  the  roads  prevented 
many  persons  attending,  especially  the  smaller  children.  The 
school  was  not  increasing  in  numbers  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  We  arranged  with  our  Methodist  brethren  to 
hold  our  school  at  a  different  hour  from  theirs,  so  that  any 
one  wishing  could  attend  both  schools.  As  the  summer  ad- 
vanced our  school  grew  in  numbers,  as  many  wished  to  at- 
tend it  in  the  old  building  the  last  year.  The  time  drew  near 
for  us  to  take  our  leave  of  our  old  church  home,  and  Sep- 
teml)er  10,  1853,  we  met  for  the  last  time  in  it,  that  place  so 
dear  to  many  of  us. 

There  was  no  preaching  that  day,  but  a  large  attendance 
upon  the  Sabbath  school.  At  the  close  of  the  school  there 
were  few  who  did  not  shed  tears,  as  we  bade  farewell  to  the 
spot  where  we  had  so  often  heard  the  glad  tidings  of  salva- 
tion. Some  of  us  thought  there  was  not  much  in  a  new  church, 
after  all.  September  17,  1853.  found  us  in  our  new  church 
with  quite  an  addition  to  our  school  in  nunil>cr.  This  year 
closed  with  great  prosperity  in  the  school  and  church. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  school  in  the  old  church.  Scptem- 


290  William  Henry  Wishard 

ber  10,  1853,  I  made  a  roll  in  the  secretary's  book  of  the  offi- 
cers, teachers,  scholars  and  visitors  present.  At  our  first  meet- 
ing in  the  new  church,  September  17,  1853,  I  made  a  similar 
roll.  What  a  privilege  it  would  be  today  to  call  that  roll ;  but 
unfortunately  for  the  school  and  this  occasion  and  future  ones, 
some  one  who  had  charge  of  the  library  and  the  secretary's 
book  made  waste  paper  of  the  records — a  most  sacrilegious 
act. 

During  the  years  of  1854,  '55  and  '56  the  school  and  church 
prospered.  After  serving  continuously  for  over  twelve  years 
as  superintendent,  I  declined  re-election,  feeling  that  a  change 
might  be  of  benefit  to  the  school.  In  1856  Caleb  Beckas  was 
elected  my  successor.  The  twelve  years  I  served  as  superin- 
tendent of  this  school,  and  five  years  as  superintendent  of  the 
school  at  Southport,  I  consider  the  best  spent  years  of  my 
life.  I  had  the  hearty  co-operation  of  teachers  and  scholars  in 
both  places.  Of  all  the  teachers  from  1844  to  1856,  during  the 
time  I  served  as  superintendent,  there  are  but  two  living :  Miss 
Rachel  Comingore,  in  northern  Indiana,  and  Mrs.  Ann  Vor- 
heis,  formerly  Miss  Smock,  living  in  Vinton,  Iowa.  Possibly 
there  are  others,  but  I  do  not  remember  them. 

I  will  now  turn  to  the  early  ministers  of  this  church.  The 
first  one  who  regularly  supplied  the  pulpit  was  the  Rev.  Jere- 
miah Hill.  I  knew  little  about  him.  He  was  said  to  be  a  man 
of  very  fair  ability. 

The  Rev.  Wm.  W.  Woods  came  here  in  June,  1829,  seven- 
ty-one years  ago.  I  often  heard  him  preach  and  was  person- 
ally acquainted  with  him.  He  was  a  physician  as  well  as  a 
minister,  and  a  preacher  of  average  ability,  a  superior  or- 
ganizer, a  good  mixer,  sociable,  and  kept  a  hospitable  home. 
His  four  years  of  service  in  this  church  were  of  unusual  suc- 
cess. There  were  more  than  one  hundred  added  to  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  during  his  ministry.     He  canie  from 


William  Henry  Wishard  291 

east  Tennessee,  and  moved  from  here  to  Putnamville,  and 
thence  to  Iowa  City,  Iowa.  His  death  occurred  October  23, 
1864,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  U.  S.  Chaplain  at  Camp  Nelson,  Kentucky. 

His  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Hilliary  Patrick,  who  was 
teaching  school  at  that  time,  succeeded  him.  He,  too,  was  a 
very  fine  organizer.  In  1833  I  heard  him  preach  in  a  school- 
house,  standing  in  the  door,  with  more  than  half  of  the  audi- 
ence on  the  outside  of  the  house.  He  preached  in  his  shirt 
sleeves  for  more  than  an  hour  and  held  the  congregation  spell- 
bound. 

He  was  eloquent  and  logical  and  it  was  a  calamity  to  this 
church  when  he  had  to  leave.  The  climate  impaired  his  health 
and  he  removed  to  Mississippi.  In  1865  he  was  residing  in 
Tamaroa,  111.  The  church  flourished  under  his  charge,  for  he 
was  a  man  of  rare  and  superior  strength. 

The  Rev.  Eliphalet  Kent  succeeded  Mr.  Patrick  in  1834. 
Mr.  Kent  was  a  native  of  Vermont.  He  came  west  in  1829, 
and  did  missionary  work  in  Shelby  and  Bartholomew  counties. 
Plis  labors  were  blessed  in  the  organization  of  several  churches 
in  those  counties,  when  he  was  called  to  this  church,  which  he 
served  until  1839,  when  the  relationship  was  dissolved.  His 
ministry  was  acceptable  and  profitable  to  the  church.  He  re- 
turned to  Shelby  county  and  remained  there  until  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  I  can  not  give,  but  he  was  over  ninety  years 
of  age  when  he  died. 

The  Rev.  P.  S.  Cleland  came  here  from  JefTersonvillc.  Itul.. 
as  successor  to  Mr.  Kent.  He  visited  the  congregatioji  and 
preached  his  first  sermon  to  this  church  on  the  17th  day  of 
November,  1839,  in  the  school  room  of  the  old  church,  by  can- 
dle light.  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  one  of  the  audience.  I 
doubt  if  there  is  another  present  today  who  heard  him  that 
niirht.    He  received  a  call  and  commenced  his  lalxjrs  here  Sun- 


292  William  Henry  Wishard 

day,  December  16,  1839.  There  are  no  two  preachers  ahke; 
each  has  his  own  characteristics.  Mr.  Cleland  was  a  good 
student  and  never  came  before  his  congregation  without  lac- 
ing well  prepared.  He  had  one  trait  that  I  always  admired, 
and  that  was,  when  he  entered  the  pulpit,  it  was  with  a  dig- 
nity that  made  you  feel  that  he  had  a  message  from  his  Mas- 
ter. During  the  many  long  years  that  I  sat  under  his  ministry, 
I  never  heard  him  make  a  remark  in  the  pulpit  to  amuse  the 
congregation,  or  that  would  compromise  the  dignity  of  his 
calling  or  the  sacredness  of  the  occasion.  To  me  those  are 
redeeming  qualities  in  any  minister.  Our  friendship  was 
strong.  Our  relations  were  unusual  and  always  that  of  true 
friendship  and  fellowship,  that  golden  chain  that  never  cor- 
rodes. 

Mrs.  Cleland  was  a  superior  woman.  She  lived  at  a  time 
when  women  took  but  little  part  in  church  work.  If  she  were 
living  today,  when  women  take  such  active  part  in  missionary 
and  church  work,  she  would  be  a  leader  and  make  her  mark. 
They  sleep  side  by  side  in  the  cemetery  at  Topeka,  Kan.,  after 
a  useful  life  in  their  Master's  service.    Peace  to  their  memory ! 

The  Rev.  Horace  Bushnell,  Jr.,  succeeded  Mr.  Cleland  for 
some  two  or  three  years,  then  the  Rev.  A.  Dunn  was  called. 
Both  were  acceptable,  but  as  I  took  my  letter  from  this  church 
January,  1861,  to  Mt.  Pleasant  church,  most  of  you  know 
more  about  the  successors  of  Mr.  Cleland  than  I  do. 

When  I  joined  this  church,  the  following  persons  were  el- 
ders, viz. :  Garrett  Brewer,  Garrett  Sorter,  Samuel  Eckles  and 
John  R.  Smock,  all  men  of  mature  age  and  good  report.  Their 
fidelity  in  attending  to  all  the  services  of  the  church  was 
worthy  of  all  praise.  Messrs.  Sorter  and  Smock  lived  over 
six  miles  from  the  church,  but  through  rain  or  shine,  heat  or 
cold,  they  came  every  Sabbath,  unless  sickness  prevented.  El- 
ders Eckles  and  Brewer  lived  near  the  church  and  were  al- 


William  Henry  Wishard  293 

ways  in  attendance  at  the  services.  When  old  age  and  deaf- 
ness overtook  Elder  Brewer,  he  would  come  tottering  along 
to  the  church,  when  he  was  so  deaf  that  he  could  scarcely  hear  a 
word  that  the  preacher  would  say.  I  asked  him  if  he  could 
not  spend  his  time  more  profitably  by  staying  at  home  and 
reading  his  Bible.  He  answered,  "Yes,  I  might,  but  the  ex- 
ample of  remaining  at  home  might  induce  others  to  do  the 
same  thing."  We  often  hear  persons  excuse  themselves  from 
going  to  church  or  Sabbath  school  by  saying  they  can  serve 
the  Lord  as  acceptably  by  staying  at  home  and  reading  the 
Bible.  For  more  than  half  a  century  I  have  been  looking  for 
an  able-bodied  man  or  woman  who  reads  the  Bible  regularly 
but  fails  to  go  to  church,  and  so  far  I  have  not  found  such  a 
person.  Those  who  stay  at  home  to  read  their  Bible  on  Sab- 
bath never  read  it,  I  fear. 

There  were  a  few  unwritten  rules  the  session  adhered  to 
that  are  worthy  of  note.  When  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the 
eldership,  the  minister  and  elders  of  the  church  looked  over 
the  congregation  for  one  they  thought  suitable  to  fill  the  office 
and  the  congregation  always  heartily  endorsed  the  selection. 
When  Robert  Todd  and  I  were  elected  elders  in  May,  1845, 
we  knew  that  we  were  going  into  a  company  of  warm  friends 
where  harmony  prevailed. 

We  had  some  cases  in  discipline,  of  those  who  were  very 
close  friends  to  some  members  of  the  session,  but  we  were  a 
unit,  and  we  dealt  out  justice  faithfully  and  conscientiously, 
without  prejudice  or  favoritism,  as  best  we  could  in  the  fear 
of  God  and  not  man.  Discord  in  a  session  produces  discord 
in  the  church ;  harmony  in  a  session  produces  harmony  in  the 
church.  Another  rule  we  followed  in  those  days,  was  one  that 
every  session  should  observe.  When  the  session  was  convened 
for  business,  we  considered  it  an  ecclesiastical  court,  and  sus- 
tained the  dignity  of  a  court.     If  the  accused  or  any  of  the 


294  William  Henry  Wishard 

witnesses  used  disrespectful  language,  they  were  promptly  re- 
quested to  desist,  and  if  they  refused,  they  were  promptly  sus- 
pended for  contrariety  and  conduct  unbecoming  a  gentle- 
man or  a  Christian.  Any  session  that  will  permit  discord  or 
disrespectful  language,  and  not  rebuke  it,  is  unworthy  the 
name  of  a  session  and  should  resign.  What  would  a  commun- 
ity think  of  a  court  of  justice  that  would  allow  the  judge  or 
jury  to  be  denounced  by  any  party,  when  the  court  is  in  ses- 
sion? Such  a  court  would  be  looked  upon  as  lacking  the  dig- 
nity of  a  court. 

When  I  look  back  over  the  fifty-five  years  of  continuous 
service  as  an  elder  in  the  church,  I  can  think  of  no  period  in 
my  life  more  pleasantly  spent  than  the  fifteen  years,  from  1845 
to  1861,  that  I  served  as  an  elder  in  this  church,  where  har- 
m.ony,  brotherly  love  and  confidence  reigned.  Those  were  truly 
happy  days,  long  to  be  remembered.  The  brethren  with  whom 
I  lived  in  such  peace  and  harmony  are  all  gone  to  their  re- 
ward, only  Doctor  Noble  and  I  remain  of  that  number  and  we, 
too,  will  soon  pass  to  the  "Great  Beyond." 

A  few  words  to  the  members  of  the  church.  The  charter 
members  of  this  church  came  to  this  community  in  1823,  '24 
and  '25.  They  came  directly  from  Mercer  county,  Ken- 
tucky, where  most  of  them  had  been  members  of  Dr.  Thos. 
Cleland's  church,  the  father  of  the  Rev.  P.  S.  Cleland,  one  of 
Kentucky's  ablest  divines.  Of  the  nine  original  members, 
there  were  eight  Smocks  and  one  Brewer.  The  names  of 
Smock  and  Brewer  should  be  gratefully  remembered  by  this 
people.  They  planted  the  seed,  under  God,  that  from  time 
to  time  has  brought  such  an  abundant  harvest.  Their  names 
should  go  down  with  the  history  of  this  church,  honored  and 
revered. 

I  would  make  a  suggestion  to  the  members  of  the  church. 
Never  elect  officers  who  are  not  regular  attendants  on  the 
means  of  grace.     To  be  sure  you  are  right  as  to  their  attend- 


William  Henry  Wishard  295 

ance,  you  should  always  be  here  yourself,  and  then  you  will 
know  that  you  are  correct  in  your  conclusion.  It  is  just  as 
necessary  that  members,  as  well  as  officers,  l3e  regular  in  their 
attendance.  We  are  struggling  in  this  life  to  leave  something 
for  our  children,  but  the  best  legacy  that  we  can  leave  to  our 
families  is  a  Christian  home  with  a  God-fearing  mother  who 
cares  well  for  her  household. 

This  is  the  last  day  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  most 
eventful  of  all  the  centuries  that  have  preceded  us.  More  has 
been  accomplished  for  material,  educational  and  religious  ad- 
vancement than  in  any  five  centuries  preceding  it.  Our  church 
at  the  beginning  of  this  century  had  less  than  twenty  thousand 
members ;  today,  including  the  southern  branch,  we  have  a 
membership  of  more  than  one  million  and  a  half.  Other 
churches  have  advanced  in  equal,  or  possibly  greater  ratio. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  century,  there  were  no  missionary 
societies,  no  publishing  houses  for  the  Bible,  and  no  Sabbath 
school  organizations.  Now,  the  Bible  and  Christian  litera- 
ture are  published,  and  scattered  abroad  like  the  leaves  of 
autumn.  Twenty  years  ago  there  was  no  organization  of 
the  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  an  organization  which  has 
brought  the  young  people  to  the  front  in  Christian  work.  Their 
motto  is  "The  World  for  Christ."  It  is  interdenominational; 
a  great  recruiting  station  and  drill  camp  for  the  church  of  to- 
day and  the  future,  even  extending  to  the  islands  of  the  seas. 
It  has  accomplished  more  in  the  few  years  it  has  e.xisted  than 
any  other  organization  the  world  has  ever  seen  ior  the  cause 
of  Christ  and  the  promotion  of  Christian  activities. 

This  church  has  played  its  part  well  in  the  moral  and  Chris- 
tian advancement  of  the  age.  My  last  word  to  you  is  to  l)e 
united,  let  peace  and  brotherly  love  reign.  Never  forget  to 
work  for  your  Master  with  greater  zeal  and  earnestness  than 
you  have  in  years  gone  by,  and  may  the  Lord  bless  you,  and 
lead  you  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  and  peace. 


GOLDEN  WEDDING  OF  DR.  AND  MRS. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  WISHARD, 

DECEMBER  17,  1890 

DR.  William  N.  Wishard:  On  behalf  of  my  father  and 
mother,  who  hesitate  to  speak  for  themselves,  I  take  the 
liberty  of  thanking  you  who  have  honored  them  by  your  pres- 
ence on  this  memorable  occasion.  It  is  with  no  ordinary  de- 
gree of  pleasure  and  thankfulness  that  we  welcome  you  today. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  refer  to  the  many  associations  that  are 
recalled  by  the  older  relatives  and  friends,  or  to  express  the 
gratitude  we  all  feel  for  the  many  blessings  that  have  crowned 
the  fifty  years  of  their  journey  through  life  together. 

With  their  keen  appreciation  of  the  sacredness  of  such  an 
event,  it  has  been  their  wish  that  some  expression  be  made 
of  the  goodness  of  God,  who  has  so  wonderfully  led  them  and 
graciously  guarded  their  pathway;  but  their  children,  wishing 
to  add  to  the  happiness  of  the  event,  have,  without  their  knowl- 
edge, somewhat  enlarged  upon  their  desires  and  arranged  a 
brief  and  informal  program,  which  we  will  now  pause  to  ob- 
serve. 

It  is  a  disappointment  that  one  of  father's  brothers,  the 
Reverend  Samuel  E.  Wishard,  D.  D.,  of  Utah,  is  not  with 
us  at  this  time,  but  he  has  sent  greetings  from  his  distant 
home.  He  has  adopted  the  pleasant  fiction  of  a  telephonic 
message,  and  I  will  ask  his  daughter,  Mrs.  David  L.  Whit- 
tier,  to  read  his  letter. 

Letter  from  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Wishard 

T-r-r-a-t,  t-r-r-a-t,  t-r-r-a-t!    Hello,  central! 
Give  me  Indianapolis:    What  for?    Well,  that's  none  of 
your  business.    T-r-r-a-t,  t-r-r-a-t,  t-r-r-a-t!    Hello!    Hello! 

296 


William  Hknkv  VVisiiakh 

From  an  oil  portrait,  1K-4I 


William  Henry  Wishard  297 

Is  that  you,  Indianapolis?  You're  a  little  slow  in  the  get-up. 
Why  didn't  you  answer  sooner?  It  is  cold  here  on  the  Rock- 
ies waiting  for  a  response  from  the  Hoosier  capital.  What  do 
I  want?  I  want  89  Huron  Street  in  your  city.  There  is  a 
wedding  there  this  afternoon,  golden  and  sunshine.  It  has 
been  going  on  for  fifty  years,  and  from  the  auroral  display  in 
the  eastern  heavens  for  the  last  few  evenings,  it  will  un- 
doubtedly culminate  this  afternoon. 

Hello,  again!  Can't  you  get  the  attention  of  the  youngsters 
at  89  Huron  Street?   All  right,  I'll  wait  a  little  longer. 

Is  this  the  right  number?  Hail!  from  the  backbone  of  the 
continent!  How  are  you?  Are  the  bride  and  groom  present- 
able? Please  give  them  our  warm  salutations,  from  ten  de- 
grees below  zero,  and  tell  them  I  want  to  speak  to  them  at  the 
phone. 

And  is  that  yourselves,  my  good  brother  and  sister?  Let 
me  look  you  over  for  a  moment  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear. 
I  do  not  want  to  have  a  fraud  practiced  upon  me  at  this  dis- 
tance. Yes,  it's  all  right — no  trick  of  Jacob's  voice  and  Esau's 
hands. 

We  are  disappointed  in  not  being  able  to  share  the  festivities 
of  this  occasion  with  you,  and  in  personal  presence  offer  our 
congratulations  to  the  modest  bride  and  groom;  but  as  rail- 
road travel  has  come  to  be  slow  and  prosy,  and  as  that  Illinois 
aerial  ship  has  not  yet  been  launched,  we  at  the  sundown  end 
of  the  Wishard  line  must  content  ourselves  with  a  chat  through 
the  telephone. 

Fifty  years  and  several  thousand  miles  have  built  a  long 
bridge  over  the  chasm  between  the  happy  day  of  your  mar- 
riage and  this  happier  day  of  your  golden  wedding,  but  mem- 
ory is  long  and  time  is  short — a  fact  which  you  realize  today 
as  never  before. 

Let   me   turn   back   the   pages   and   recall   the   events   that 


298  William  Henry  Wishard 

brought  a  new  sister  into  our  family  circle  as  they  impressed 
me  fifty  years  ago.  Her  coming  was  like  adding  a  new  star 
to  the  familiar  ones  that  move  in  the  heavens  above  us.  The 
coming  of  that  particular  star  into  our  domestic  heaven  was 
an  event  of  no  small  importance,  involving  reconstruction  of 
our  family  astronomy.  There  were  signs  and  wonders  in  the 
old  Hoosier  home  for  days  before  the  star  appeared.  The  fire 
blazed  higher  on  the  old  wide  hearthstone.  Poultry,  pigs  and 
pumpkins  were  slaughtered.  The  entire  culinary  department 
of  the  establishment  took  on  serious  and  portentous  move- 
ments. Father  was  unusually  critical,  then  hilarious.  Mother, 
always  sweet  and  sedate,  was  still  more  so.  There  were 
strange  and  ominous  comings  and  goings  of  excited  young 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood.  We  youngsters 
of  the  home,  who  had  heard  whispers  of  coming  events,  were 
slightly  dazed  under  the  weight  of  the  news  that  our  elder 
brother  had  become  sufficiently  adventurous  to  resolve  on  mat- 
rimony. We  never  had  conceived  the  idea  that  our  parents 
had  once  loved  and  wedded;  at  least,  I  had  not.  In  my  un- 
sophisticated imagination  they  had  always  been  husband  and 
wife,  father  and  mother.  Hence  a  wedding,  true  and  real, 
was  in  our  estimation  a  wonder  freighted  with  possible  revo- 
lution, disruption  and  other  dire  consequences.  Yet,  with  all 
possible  dangers,  we  considered  the  event  rather  desirable. 
It  would  be  a  new  era,  at  least. 

The  event  did  take  place.  It  was  in  December,  as  you  may 
possibly  recall — a  cold  month  in  which  to  be  born,  as  John 
and  myself  can  testify,  and  a  cold  month  in  which  to  wed. 

Being  just  fifteen  years  old  the  day  following  the  wedding, 
I  was  competent  to  judge  of  December  weather  in  general, 
and  of  that  December  in  particular. 

The  day  came  and  the  thermometer  went,  that  is,  went 
down,  but  everything  else  warmed  up  in  the  old  home.   When 


William  Hexry  Wishard  299 

my  young  eyes  beheld  the  bride,  and  my  ears  heard  the  music 
of  her  voice,  I  wondered  if  we  might  not  all  marry  her.  When 
she  laid  her  hand  upon  my  head  and  called  my  name,  the 
new  jeans  pants  and  jacket  that  adorned  my  person  passed 
through  a  fearful  crisis.  Every  seam  and  button  was  put  to 
the  utmost  tension.  The  fact  is,  no  wedding  ever  interested 
me  so  much,  except  one,  of  which  some  one  else  may  speak 
when  the  next  golden  wedding  takes  place  in  our  tribe. 

Though  somewhat  numerous  ourselves,  there  was  plenty 
of  room  in  our  circle  for  the  new  sister.  There  were  more 
than  five  hundred  acres  of  land  around  the  Wishard  home, 
and  the  old  hive,  from  which  the  family  had  swarmed  three 
years  before,  was  standing  empty  on  the  upper  end  of  the 
farm.  We  were  all  glad  to  have  the  new  sister  so  near  us 
while  her  young  husband  was  careering  over  two  counties  on 
his  fleet  horse,  armed  with  his  formidable  pill  bags.*  I  may 
say  in  parenthesis  that  many  who  suffered  with  divers  dis- 
eases in  those  days  survived  despite  the  presence  of  the  young 
doctor  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  months  passed  on  with  this  new  home  on  "the  old 
plantation."  Then  came  your  firstborn,  opening  his  eyes  in 
the  same  cabin  in  which  these  eyes  of  mine  first  beheld  the 
light  sixty-five  years  ago  tomorrow.  He  stayed  not,  but  passed 
over  to  the  land  where  the  light  is  never  dim.  The  sweet  child 
that  came  to  comfort  you  next  grew  to  Ix:  a  loving  prattler,  a 
knowing  one  and  wise  beyond  her  years  was  she,  filling  a  large 
place  in  all  our  hearts.  When  I  was  turning  my  back  on  the 
old  home,  setting  my  face  towards  college,  and  had  said 
good-by  to  the  best  mother  that  ever  brought  light  into  a 
home,  my  heart  came  into  my  throat  and  my  eyes  overllowcd. 
It  was  then  your  dear  child  looked  at  me  in  compassion  ami 
said:  "Uncle  Sam,  what's  the  matter  with  your  eyes?"  Of 
course,  I  was  unable  to  answer  the  profound  (lucstion.    She 


An  imprint  of  which  appears  on  cover. 


300  William  Henry  Wishard 

soon  followed  her  brother  through  the  gates  of  pearl,  and 
two  other  young  lives  lent  to  cheer  your  home  and  hearts  for 
a  little  while  passed  on,  following  each  other  beyond  the  reach 
of  our  vision  until,  almost  in  the  middle  of  life,  you  were  left 
childless. 

But  what  shall  I  say  of  your  family  today,  with  these 
stalwarts  about  you?  You  are  today  the  possessors  of  three 
boys  and  two  girls — or,  putting  it  longitudinally,  forty  rods 
(or  less)  of  sons  and  daughters.  Jacob's  twelve  sons  and  one 
daughter  could  not  measure  with  your  blessings.  They  are 
not  only  long  enough,  but  broad  enough,  in  the  best  sense. 
So  you  have  a  goodly  company  on  the  other  shore  and  are 
rich  in  your  treasures  on  this  side. 

"Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 
And  part  are  to  the  margin  come." 

We  trust  those  on  this  side  may  long  abide  to  help  right 
up  this  old  crooked  world. 

This  telephonic  chat  would  be  incomplete  without  a  word 
about  your  home,  which  has  been  a  house  of  shelter  for  all 
your  kin  and  most  of  the  world  in  addition. 

I  heard  of  a  gentleman  in  Kentucky  who  had  to  sell  out 
and  leave  the  country  to  escape  being  eaten  out  by  his  friends. 
I  know  a  man,  formerly  of  Greenwood,  then  of  Southport, 
but  more  recently  of  Indianapolis,  whose  name  shall  not  be 
hinted  at,  who  would  have  made  money  by  following  the 
example  of  the  Kentuckian.  Not  being  given  to  money  mak- 
ing, however,  he  has  remained  among  his  own  people  and  has 
suffered  the  consequences. 

For  myself,  I  am  debtor  to  that  home.  It  was  there  I  spent 
an  autumn  and  winter  while  attending  school  before  going  to 
college.  Thither  I  turned  many  times  for  rest  and  comfort 
after  our  ways  had  parted.    In  the  fifty  years  since  that  hos- 


William  Henry  Wishard  301 

pitable  fire  was  kindled  on  your  hearthstone  I  have  many 
times  been  Avarmed  and  refreshed  by  it,  and  shall  not  give  up 
the  habit  so  long  as  you  keep  the  fires  lighted.  If  you  have 
kept  open  house  for  two  counties  and  the  scattered  tribes  of 
Wishard,  you  have  the  promise  "there  is  that  scattereth  and 
yet  increaseth."  You  have  obeyed  the  injunction,  "Cast  thy 
bread  upon  the  waters."  It  will  return  to  you  again,  both  in 
this  life  and  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

From  these  lofty  heights  on  the  backbone  of  the  continent 
wife  and  children  join  me  in  congratulations  to  the  happy 
bride  and  groom  and  to  all  your  family  who  have  been  privi- 
leged above  many  in  the  celebration  of  your  golden  wedding. 

I  need  not  charge  the  sons  and  daughters  to  deal  kindly 
with  father  and  mother.  Gray  hairs  and  cautious  steps  al- 
ready admonish  them  that  their  beloved  ones  are  journeying 
towards  the  end  of  Hfe,  and  in  a  few  years  this  home  must 
give  place  to  others. 

Let  me  invite  you  all  and  your  assembled  guests  to  the  next 
golden  wedding  of  our  clan.  The  time  is  set  for  sixteen  years 
from  next  February.  Some  of  you  will  not  l^e  there;  perhaps 
the  event  itself  may  be  adjourned.  If  so,  we  may  at  least  look 
forward  to  that  royal  wedding  in  the  King's  palace,  where. 

"With  crowns  bedecked,  and  palms. 
And  with  wedding  garments  on, 
At  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb, 
The  saints  shall  all  sit  down." 

With  loving  affection  and  kindly  remembrance, 

Your  brother, 

Samuel  E.  Wishard. 

Dr.  William  N.  Wishard:  We  have  with  us  a  friend 
who  was  present  at  the  silver  wedding  twenty-live  years  ago 
today  and  who  has  known  the  bride  and  groom   fur  many 


302  William  Henry  Wishard 

years.  I  am  sure  we  will  all  be  glad  to  hear  from  Mr.  Dick- 
erson. 

The  Reverend  Henry  L.  Dickerson  :  Solomon  says, 
"Words  fitly  spoken  are  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of 
silver,"  and  specially  golden.  A  few  of  us,  wishing  to  com- 
bine our  scanty  means  so  as  to  reconcile  the  meagerness  of 
our  purses  with  the  fullness  of  our  hearts,  put  our  heads  and 
pockets  together  and  now  present  them  in  the  form  of  golden 
candlesticks,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand  as  my  text.  We  have 
placed  in  them  something  that  will  remind  you  perhaps  of  the 
light  of  other  days,  when  tallow  dips  were  a  luxury  even 
among  the  wealthy;  and  it  will  remind  you,  too,  of  fifty  years 
ago,  of  the  love  that  was  kindled  in  your  hearts  by  the  Divine 
Spirit.  We  wish  also  by  means  of  this  to  be  able  to  express 
our  sincere  and  hearty  congratulations  that  you  have  been  en- 
abled to  walk  so  long  in  the  line  of  matrimonial  light  and  mat- 
rimonial joys  and  have  come  to  this  day  without  a  strain  or 
strife.  It  is  a  fine  thing  to  be  able  in  our  hearts  to  rejoice 
with  you. 

We  wish  also,  doctor,  to  express  our  admiration  for  the 
courage  and  perseverance  and  faith  that  enabled  you  to  live 
so  long  and  to  battle  so  bravely.  Now  they  couldn't  very 
well  make  these  candlesticks  of  a  different  size,  and  so  in 
the  line  of  charity  we  wished  them  to  express  our  belief  that 
you  have  mutually  borne  the  burden  and  heat,  though  some  of 
us  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Wishard  stock  from  away 
back  have  an  idea  that  Harriet's  candlestick  ought  to  be  at 
least  twice  as  large  as  William's,  and  worth  twice  as  much, 
because  we  admire  the  courage  of  a  woman  who  can  live  fifty 
years  with  a  Wishard  boy  and  still  seem  so  full  of  life,  and 
so  ready  to  fight  it  out  to  the  end. 

We  wish  to  express  our  belief  that  you  have  kept  two  big 
bears  in  the  family,  bear  and   forbear;  mutually  have  you 


William  Henry  Wishard  303 

borne  the  burdens,  and  we  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  God  has 
enabled  you  to  come  this  far  without  blemish  or  without  spot 
in  your  career.  God  be  thanked  for  two  lives  that  can  go  so 
long  and  shine  as  brightly  as  these.  One  more  thought  only 
between  this  happy  hour  and  the  one  in  which  you  tread  the 
golden  shore  and  see  the  light  of  the  golden  candlesticks  close 
to  the  marriage  seat  of  the  Lamb.  You  may  have  darker 
hours;  you  may  enter  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  be- 
fore us  all;  but  we  wish  by  these  simple  tokens  of  our  regard 
to  express  the  belief  and  the  conviction  that  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  will  always  lighten  your  path  and  make  your  last  days 
the  happiest  of  all. 

Let  us  forget  the  things  that  are  behind,  and  reach  for  the 
things  that  are  before,  and  as  you  pass  that  valley,  not  far 
apart,  we  know  that  there  is  a  union  in  a  better  land. 

That  God  may  bless  you  abundantly  in  all  the  richest  bless- 
ings of  the  blest  is  the  wish  not  only  of  those  who  have  met 
you  on  your  beautiful  journey  but  of  all  the  friends  who  greet 
you  today. 

Dr.  William  N.  Wishard:  It  would  be  an  unusual  thing 
indeed  on  such  an  occasion  as  this  if  it  were  possible  for  the 
pastor  to  be  present  who  performed  the  marriage  ceremony 
fifty  years  ago,  but  he  has  passed  away.  My  father  and 
mother  have  had  but  three  pastors  besides  the  present  one, 
Doctor  Hunter.  They  were  the  Reverend  P.  S.  Clcland,  who 
ofificiated  at  the  wedding,  the  Reverend  Horace  Bushnell,  Jr., 
and  the  Reverend  Charles  H.  Raymond.  I  will  ask  Doctor 
Hunter  to  speak  as  his  heart  prompts  him  to  and  then  close 
with  prayer. 

The  Reverend  R.  V.  Hunter.  D.  D.  :  I  have  the  feeling 
that  the  present  pastor  is  a  sort  of  supernumerary.  It  would 
add  a  great  deal  to  the  interest  of  the  occasion  if  the  pastors 
who  ministered  so  long  to  this  couple  could  be  present,  but 


304  William  Henry  Wishard 

that  is  impossible.  There  is  one  thought  that  has  been  in  my 
mind  since  this  anniversary  has  been  talked  of.  These  friends 
have  lived  so  long  together,  and  so  beautifully  during  this 
half  century,  what  may  we  not  expect  in  the  next  life?  The 
New  Testament  teaches  that  our  relations  in  the  next  world 
will  not  be  just  what  they  are  here,  yet  I  can't  help  but  feel 
that  heaven  will  not  be  all  that  we  could  wish  if  those  who 
have  been  our  helpers  and  our  companions  in  this  life  should 
be  missing  on  the  other  shore.  We  are  all  happy  to  know  that 
there  is  no  danger  of  that  in  this  case.-  I  believe  that  Doctor 
Wishard  is  sure  to  be  among  the  redeemed.  I  say  that  now, 
before  he  dies,  because  if  I  should  be  present  I  shall  say  it 
after,  and  I  believe  that  Mrs.  Wishard  is  just  as  sure  of  the 
eternal  reward  as  the  doctor. 

It  was  an  interesting  point  touched  upon  in  this  remarkable 
letter  we  have  listened  to,  that  there  is  an  interest  on  the 
other  shore  for  this  couple  as  they  stand  on  the  border  land 
today.  It  does  not  matter  which  way  they  look,  there  is  some- 
thing touching  and  something  interesting  for  them.  They  have 
seen  much  of  life  and  I  believe  have  had  the  privilege  of 
doing  more  of  what  has  been  delegated  to  each  individual,  by 
human  effort,  than  most  people.  They  have  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  doing  something  for  themselves;  they  have  had  a 
splendid  opportunity,  as  was  suggested,  for  doing  something 
for  their  fellow  men,  meeting  the  world  at  large.  And  they 
have  had  opportunity  of  doing  something  for  the  glory  of 
God.  They  can  look  back  over  lives  well  spent.  As  they  look 
forward  there  are  larger  hopes  for  them.  There  is  something 
more  beautiful  in  a  forward  look  than  a  backward  look. 

On  an  interesting  occasion  like  this,  it  is  said  that  the  per- 
son who  speaks  most  interestingly  and  effectively  is  the  in- 
dividual that  speaks  from  experience.  I  have  not  had  the 
long  experience  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Wishard  have  had  and  can 
not  speak  from  that  standpoint,  but  I  know  we  all  have  a  full 


11 A RR I KT  i\ KW KI.I.  W  I S  1 1  A U I ) 
l"rom  an  oil  portrait,  lX-41 


William  Henry  Wishaed  305 

appreciation  of  the  example  they  have  been.  What  truthful 
lives!  What  fruitful  lives!  Their  love  burns  no  dimmer  to- 
day than  it  has  burned  from  its  beginning  and  I  am  sure 
they  can  join  with  the  poet  in  the  sentiment  of  these  lines: 

Oh,  lay  thy  hand  in  mine,  dear. 

We're  growing  old ; 
But  time  hath  brought  no  sign,  dear, 

That  hearts  grow  cold. 
'Tis  long,  long  since  our  new  love 

Made  life  divine; 
But  age  enricheth  true  love 

Like  noble  wine. 

And  lay  thy  cheek  to  mine,  dear, 

And  take  thy  rest ; 
Mine  arms  around  thee  twine,  dear, 

And  make  thy  nest. 
A  many  cares  are  pressing 

On  this  dear  head ; 
But  Sorrow's  hands  in  blessing 

Are  surely  laid. 

Oh,  lean  thy  love  on  mine,  dear ! 

'Twill  shelter  thee. 
Thou  wert  a  winsome  vine,  dear. 

On  my  young  tree ; 
And  so,  till  boughs  are  leafless. 

And  song  birds  flown 
We'll  twine,  then  lay  us,  griefless. 

Together  down. 

These  verses  express  a  language  that  might  be  fitly  .spoken 
by  either  of  these  dear  friends  this  afternoon. 

I  can  not  do  more  than  join  with  Mr.  Dickerson  in  what 
he  has  said  in  congratulating  you  on  reaching  this  event,  which 
so  few  are  privileged  to  do.  I  can  but  remind  you  that  you 
have  been  specially  favored  of  heaven,  and  I  know  your  hearts 
are  filled  with  gratitude. 

Not  many  have  such  a  privilege  as  is  granted  to  us  who 
are  present  today.   It  is  a  rich  time  and  I  rejoice  that  we  have 


306  William  Henry  Wishard 

had  the  privilege  of  being  with  you.  May  God  bless  and  keep 
you,  and  we  all  share  the  wish  that  your  latter  days  may  be 
your  happiest  days. 

Prayer  by  the  Reverend  R.  V.  Hunter,  D.  D. : 

Oh,  Thou  God,  who  hath  ordained  the  marriage  relation, 
and  Thou  Christ,  who  hath  made  it  a  joy  by  Thy  presence 
and  Thy  Holy  Spirit,  the  source  of  all  true  blessedness,  it  is 
to  Thee  that  we  would  come  today,  and  it  is  Thy  blessing 
that  we  would  crave.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  made 
the  rough  places  of  life  smooth  for  the  passing  over  by  these 
friends  whose  golden  wedding  anniversary  we  celebrate  this 
afternoon.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  lives  which  they  have  been 
enabled  to  lead  amongst  us,  and  for  the  good  which  they  have 
done.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  tribute  which  they  have  made 
to  the  world's  betterment,  and  the  better  condition  of  our  race. 
We  thank  Thee  for  all  that  they  have  done  in  their  lives,  for 
the  example  which  they  have  left. 

Now,  Father,  wilt  Thou  bless  them;  whatever  of  years 
remain  to  them,  may  they  be  golden  years.  Oh,  God,  be  with 
them  in  their  home.  Be  with  them  in  their  individual  expe- 
rience. Be  with  them,  we  pray  Thee,  at  the  last  moment, 
whenever  that  may  be,  and  if  it  is  Thy  will,  may  it  be  a  long 
way  off.  Oh,  God,  grant  them  many  years  yet  if  it  is  Thy  will. 
We  thank  Thee  for  their  family.  We  thank  Thee  for  the 
beautiful  ties  which  we  see  existing  here,  for  the  love  and 
respect.  We  know  these  children  rise  up  and  call  their  parents 
blessed.  Oh,  Lord,  may  they  ever  be  proud  of  their  parents, 
and  may  each  one  of  these  children  lead  such  lives  that  the 
parents  will  be  proud  of  them. 

Lord,  our  God,  wilt  Thou  take  them  into  Thine  own  care. 
Do  for  them  as  Thou  see'est  they  need.  Be  Thou  their  guard 
and  guide.  Keep  their  eyes  from  tears,  their  feet  from  fall- 
ing and  their  souls  from  death ;  and  bless  us  all  now  and  for- 
evermore,  we  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  our  Lord.    Amen. 


MY  MOTHER'S  ANCESTRY 

MY  grandfather,  John  Robertson  Moreland.  was  only  a 
few  months  old  w-hen  his  father  was  killed  in  Pennsyl- 
vania by  the  Indians  when  crossing  the  Monongahela  river  in 
a  canoe,  but  the  savages  were  not  able  to  get  possession  of  the 
body  and  complete  their  brutal  act  of  scalping  their  victim  until 
after  they  shot  the  vigilant,  watchful  dog,  Pharaoh,  who 
fought  over  his  master's  body  until  he,  too,  fell  a  prey  to  their 
murderous  instincts. 

When  eighteen  years  of  age.  Grandfather  Moreland  went 
as  an  assistant  to  an  uncle  who  was  taking  a  flatboat  load  of 
provisions  to  New  Orleans,  then  the  great  commercial  center 
of  the  south.  One  morning  they  awakened  to  find  their  boat 
frozen  fast  where  they  had  anchored  for  the  night.  It  was 
at  Hanging  Rock,  Ohio,  that  they  were  thus  detained  two 
weeks.  Realizing  the  proximity  of  Indians,  they  were  con- 
stantly on  the  lookout  for  them.  Soon  one  appeared  whose 
presence  alarmed  them,  but,  receiving  peace  offerings  of 
provisions,  he  left  without  exciting  any  fear  of  an  imme- 
diate attack.  He  returned  a  few  times  for  further  contribu- 
tions and  one  morning  came  early  and  remained  late.  Feeling 
danger  awaited  them,  the  men  on  the  boat  at  one  time  were 
aroused  to  a  high  point  of  anxiety,  when  suddenly  there 
emerged  from  the  thicket  their  dark-skinned  intruder,  who, 
jumping  up  and  down,  clapping  his  hands,  vociferously 
shouted  "papoose !  papoose !"  and  as  quickly  disappeared.  The 
occupants  of  the  Ix^at  had  an  undisturbed  but  wakeful  night, 
not  knowing  what  peril  might  befall  them.  Early  the  next 
morning  the  Indian  returned  joyous,  but  less  hilarious,  and 
invited  the  traveling  merchants  to  a  feast  in  celebration  of  the 
two  little  papooses  that  had  joined  his  tribe  the  night  before. 

807 


308  William  Henry  Wishard 

Suspecting  intrigue  on  the  part  of  the  red  men,  the  company- 
hesitated  to  accept  the  courtesy ;  neither  dared  they  to  offend, 
and  after  dehberate  counsel  they  started  toward  the  camp. 
The  first  sight  that  met  their  eager  gaze  was  a  huge  turkey 
hanging  before  a  big  fire,  roasting  in  true  camp  style.  Sit- 
ting on  a  log  near  by  was  the  squaw,  and  standing  against  a 
tree,  close  by  her  side,  were  two  boards,  or  papoose  frames, 
that  had  strapped  to  them,  Indian  fashion,  her  infants  not 
twenty-four  hours  old. 

With  the  prospect  of  a  turkey  feast,  the  doubting  guests  at 
once  had  their  fears  allayed,  but  alas !  their  gastronomic  anti- 
cipations wTre  soon  to  vanish!  At  one  side  of  the  camp  a  dog 
skin  was  hanging,  and  by  means  of  supports  formed  a  recep- 
tacle. From  that  mysterious  vessel  the  Indian,  who  was  di- 
recting the  festivities,  drew  forth  a  liberal  quantity  of  grease 
with  which  he  proceeded  to  baste  the  turkey.  That  movement 
on  his  part  was  not  calculated  to  make  the  tempting  fowl  so 
toothsome  as  it  had  looked  to  be,  but  the  visitors  could  not 
provoke  displeasure  by  retreating  at  the  climax  of  the  open-air 
banquet  that  was  to  celebrate  the  arrival  of  the  two  little  sav- 
ages. With  at  least  some  outward  demonstration  of  satis- 
faction they  partook  of  the  native  viands  as  liberally  as  the 
unappetizing  situation  permitted. 

A  change  in  temperature  made  it  possible  for  the  party  to 
continue  on  their  journey  southward  in  a  day  or  two  without 
any  attack  by  the  Indians,  greatly  to  their  surprise  and  relief. 
It  was  easy  floating  down  stream  with  a  flatboat,  but  the  same 
method  of  transportation  availed  nothing  for  the  return  trip. 
That  was  four  years  before  Robert  Fulton  gave  his  first  dem- 
onstration of  steam  as  a  propelling  power,  the  knowledge 
of  which  did  not  reach  the  west  for  a  long  time  afterward. 
Therefore,  when  the  business  was  completed  that  had  taken 
these  young  men  under  the  direction  of  their  uncle  so  far  from 


William  Henry  Wishard  309 

their  native  state,  they  had  to  journey  homeward  on  foot, 
which  proved  a  hard  experience  for  Grandfather  Moreland, 
who  was  stricken  with  measles.  He  was  kindly  welcomed  and 
cared  for  in  a  cabin  home  by  a  motherly  woman  who  amply 
illustrated  the  hospitable  spirit  of  the  widely-scattered  pio- 
neers who  received  strangers  and  entertained  them  with  no 
thought  but  that  of  generosity,  kindness  and  brotherly  love. 
When  able  to  resume  his  overland  trip,  he  decided  he  would 
stop  in  Kentucky  and  visit  the  family  of  Mark  McGohon, 
whose  wiie,  Elizabeth,  was  a  sister  of  his  mother,  Jennie 
Dunn  Moreland. 

The  flatboat  was  the  successor  of  the  Indian  canoe  as  a 
mode  of  travel  when  the  rivers  and  canals  supplied  the  thor- 
oughfares and  before  roadways  had  been  opened  that  would 
admit  of  the  transportation  of  goods  by  wagon.  In  "A  His- 
tory of  Travel  in  America,"  Dunbar  says,  "The  fiattoat  was 
the  standard  vehicle  for  traveling  families  and  was  a  creation 
of  the  Ohio  river  valley."  It  varied  in  size  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  one  constructing  it  and  part  was  enclosed  like  a 
house,  heavily  barricaded  for  protection  against  Indians.  The 
owners  sometimes  stocked  their  boats  with  goods  that  they 
sold  along  the  way,  thus  defraying  their  expenses  down  the 
Ohio  river  as  they  were  emigrating  westward. 

The  flatboat  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  activities  of 
the  early  western  population  and  afforded  a  business  career 
for  many  when  such  opportunities  w^ere  scarce,  as  the  railroad 
and  modern  methods  of  transportation  have  since  done  for 
countless  numbers.  Grandfather  Wishard's  eldest  bnithcr. 
William  Wishard,  made  fifteen  trips  to  New  Orleans  on  flat 
boats  with  produce.  Usually  the  owners  of  the  boats  sold 
them  at  New  Orleans,  at  a  market  created  for  that  purpose, 
and  walked  home. 

The  celebrated  Audubon  sailed  down  the  Ohio  river  from 


310  William  Henry  Wishard 

Pittsburg  with  his  bride  in  1808.  The  wedding  voyage  was 
made  in  a  flatboat  of  the  ark  variety,  which  conveyed  the 
goods  with  which  he  estabhshed  himself  in  business  in  Louis- 
ville, 

A  wave  of  religious  awakening  was  sweeping  over  Kentucky 
in  1803,  the  year  Grandfather  Moreland  first  visited  it,  which 
left  its  impress  and  later  was  transplanted  by  many  who 
crossed  the  Ohio  river,  and  became  one  of  the  potent  agencies 
in  laying  the  splendid  moral  and  religious  foundations  that 
have  built  for  righteousness  in  Indiana.  The  preaching  of 
Doctor  Lyle,  a  minister  of  great  power  at  Cane  Run  church, 
near  Harrodsburg,  so  aroused  Grandfather  Moreland  to  the 
claims  and  opportunities  of  a  life  consecrated  to  Christian 
service  that  he  there  dedicated  himself  to  the  ministry.  How- 
ever, he  went  to  Pennsylvania  for  a  short  time,  returning  to 
Kentucky  to  prepare  for  his  life  work.  He  became  a  student 
in  the  academy  that  was  the  forerunner  of  Center  College, 
Danville,  Ky.,  later  going  to  Transylvania  University,  Lex- 
ington. Through  the  courtesy  of  Mrs.  C.  F.  Norton,  librarian 
of  the  university,  I  was  granted  access  to  old  reports  that  are 
now  on  file  in  the  archives  of  that  institution.  When  the  main 
building  of  the  college  group  burned  in  1829  all  records  were 
destroyed,  but  a  small  bundle  of  reports  made  to  the  board 
of  trustees  by  Doctor  Blythe,  the  president,  who  afterward 
became  president  of  Hanover  College,  Hanover,  Ind.,  was  res- 
cued and  the  charred  edges  bear  witness  to  the  narrow  escape 
they  had  from  the  destroying  flames.  The  report  was  headed, 
"A  list  of  the  students  who  are  studying  under  the  care  of  the 
scientific  professor.  The  students  whose  names  are  marked 
with  an  asterisk  also  recite  to  the  professor  of  languages."  An 
asterisk  appears  before  the  name  of  John  R.  Moreland.  His 
name  appeared  on  the  report  made  by  Doctor  Blythe  for  the 
winter  session  of  1810-11,  and  on  another  report  made  by 


William  Henry  Wishard  311 

the  president  October  1,  1811,  thus  showing  that  he  was  a  stu- 
dent for  two  winters,  if  not  longer,  in  that  historic  seat  of 
learning  that  played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  early  educa- 
tional life  of  Kentucky.  Lexington  was  then  the  leading  cul- 
tural center  of  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  Asso- 
ciated with  Doctor  Blythe  on  the  faculty  was  Doctor  Bishop, 
who  became  the  first  president  of  Miami  University. 

After  leaving  Transylvania  University,  Grandfather  More- 
land  followed  the  custom  that  then  obtained  with  the  majority 
of  young  men  in  the  west  who  wished  to  enter  any  of  the  pro- 
fessions, namely,  that  of  placing  themselves  under  the  personal 
tutorage  of  preceptors,  men  equipped  by  education  and  train- 
ing, and  who  owned  libraries  that  would  enable  them  to  direct 
the  studies  of  their  students. 

As  a  theological  seminary  was  not  within  reasonable  access, 
he  went  to  the  home  of  Doctor  Thomas  Cleland,  near  Har- 
rodsburg,  a  man  whose  name  will  live  in  the  history  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Kentucky  and  surrounding  states  as 
one  of  the  great  preachers  and  theologians  of  its  early  devel- 
opment. To  be  a  student  under  a  man  so  strong  in  faith,  and 
so  powerful  in  the  pulpit,  was  an  opportunity  appreciated  and 
valued  by  the  young  man  who  was  admitted  as  a  member  of 
the  Cleland  household,  where  it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  to 
find  three  or  four  students  of  theology  at  one  time.  In  his 
autobiography  Doctor  Cleland  mentions  John  R.  Moreland  as 
one  of  the  fifteen  young  men  who  received  instruction  from 
him  while  members  of  his  household,  some  remaining  with 
him  as  long  as  two  years,  others  a  shorter  time. 

Providence  church,  of  which  Doctor  Cleland  was  pastor  for 
over  fifty  years,  received  its  name  as  "a  testimonial  of  gratitude 
to  God  for  an  extraordinary  deliverance  of  some  of  the  settlers 
from  an  Indian  ambuscade."  The  loyalty  and  devotion  of  the 
pioneers  of  Kentucky  who  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania  and 


312  William  Henry  Wishard 

New  Jersey  were  evidenced  in  the  erection  of  churches.  As 
soon  as  their  homes  were  estabhshed  they  turned  to  the  build- 
ing of  the  house  of  God.  It  is  related  in  the  history  of  the  Old 
Mud  Meeting  House,  near  Harrodsburg,  erected  in  1800,  that 
one  of  the  members,  Henry  Comingore,  traveled  to  New  Jer- 
sey on  horseback,  a  ride  of  six  weeks  each  way,  to  solicit  funds 
for  the  building.  Securing  the  money  needed,  he  brought  it 
home  in  his  saddlebags,  a  brave  act  on  his  part  as  well  as  a 
high  testimony  to  the  honesty  of  the  early  settlers  he  encoun- 
tered on  the  journey. 

Doctor  Cleland's  fame  was  not  confined  to  the  state  in  which 
he  labored,  for  he  had  a  large  share  in  establishing  the  church 
in  southern  Indiana.  The  first  record  of  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister preaching  in  Indiana  is  given  in  the  autobiography  of 
Doctor  Cleland,  published  in  1859.  Referring  to  that  experi- 
ence he  said,  "Transylvania  Presbytery  had  no  definite  limits 
in  a  southern  direction ;  it  also  included  Indiana  on  the  north. 
In  the  spring  of  1805  I  was  directed  to  visit  Vincennes  and 
the  adjoining  regions.  It  was  an  uninhabited  route  I  had  to 
go;  a  small  wilderness  trace,  with  only  one  residence  on  the 
way,  in  the  most  destitute  part  of  the  way,  to  entertain  me  dur- 
ing the  night.  Here  my  poor  animal  was  tied  to  a  tree,  fed 
with  the  grain  packed  in  a  wallet  from  Louisville,  and  myself 
stretched  on  the  puncheon  floor  of  a  small  cabin  for  the  night's 
rest.  All  passed  off,  however,  without  any  detriment  or  dis- 
comfort. The  next  evening  made  up  for  all  previous  priva- 
tions. I  was  welcomed  and  agreeably  entertained  at  the  gov- 
ernor's palace  during  my  stay  in  Vincennes.  The  late  William 
Henry  Harrison,  then  a  young  man,  with  a  Presbyterian  wife, 
was  governor  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  as  it  then  was.  He 
had  recently  held  a  treaty  with  a  certain  tribe  of  Indians,  who 
assembled  at  Vincennes. 

"The  first  sermon  I  preached — and  it  was  the  first  ever 


William  Henry  Wishard  313 

preached  in  the  place,  at  least  by  a  Presbyterian  minister — 
was  in  the  council  house,  but  a  short  time  before  occupied  by 
the  sons  of  the  forest.  I  preached  also  in  a  settlement  twenty 
miles  up  the  Wabash,  where  were  a  few  Presbyterian  fam- 
ilies, chiefly  from  Shelby  county,  Kentucky." 

It  has  been  said  by  another  historian  that  "Mrs.  Harrison 
rocked  the  cradle  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Indiana." 

The  limited  facilities  for  travel  in  those  days  ofttimes  caused 
a  rapid  shifting  of  plans,  as  was  illustrated  by  my  mother's 
parents,  whose  wedding  was  hastened  in  order  that  the  one 
man  above  all  others  whom  the  bridegroom  desired  to  officiate 
could  be  present  for  that  purpose.  A  change  of  appointments 
for  Doctor  Cleland,  who  frequently  traveled  long  distances  in 
answer  to  invitations  that  came  to  him  to  preach,  took  him 
through  the  neighborhood  of  the  coming  bride  not  long  before 
the  day  designated  for  the  marriage.  The  circuit  upon  which 
he  had  started  forbade  his  return  in  time  for  the  day  named, 
but  his  former  student  was  not  in  any  mood  for  delaying  the 
consummation  of  his  happiness,  and  the  busy  pastor,  who 
chanced  to  be  in  the  neighborhood  filling  a  Sunday  engage- 
ment, could  not  tarry  beyond  that  day.  Hastening  to  the  home 
of  his  betrothed,  the  prospective  bridegroom  found  her  busy 
preparing  dinner  and  laid  before  her  the  circumstances. 

It  is  not  hard  to  imagine  how  great  must  have  been  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  impetuous  young  suitor  when  he  found  the 
future  "mistress  of  the  manse"  ready  to  acquiesce  in  his  desire 
for  an  immediate  ceremony.  Relatives  were  quickly  assembled 
and  in  a  short  time  Doctor  Cleland  was  pursuing  his  journey, 
leaving  l^ehind  him  a  smiling  couple  who  sacrificed  form  and 
conventionality  rather  than  delay  the  event. 

My  grandmother,  Rachel  McGohon  Stagg,  was  a  widow 
with  three  children,  Elizabeth,  James  and  John,  before  she 
reached  her  twenty-first  birthday.    When  sixteen  years  of  age 


314  William  Henry  Wishard 

she  donned  the  white  cap  of  the  prevaiHng  style,  which  was 
then  the  badge  of  matrimony  with  every  matron,  and  an  em- 
blem of  wedlock  she  never  discarded.  It  was  the  custom  of 
the  times  for  girls  to  marry  at  a  very  early  age.  Her  marriage 
to  John  R.  Moreland  occurred  June  5,  1814,  soon  after  he  had 
entered  upon  a  pastorate  that  continued  twelve  years  for  the 
churches  of  Cynthiana  and  Mt.  Pleasant,  Ky. 

During  that  period  the  following  children  were  born :  Nancy 
Logan,  Mary  Ann,  Harriet  Newell  and  Luther  McCalla,  the 
latter  dying  in  infancy.  The  youngest  child,  William  Latta, 
was  bom  at  Paris,  Ky.,  where  his  father  was  supplying  the 
pulpit  for  the  pastor  whose  ill  health  caused  him  to  retire  for 
a  year's  rest.  For  a  while  after  his  ordination  by  the  West 
Lexington  Presbytery,  Grandfather  Moreland  did  missionary 
work  in  Mississippi  and  the  western  part  of  Tennessee,  and 
that  his  activities  along  that  line  were  not  lessened  in  succeed- 
ing years  is  indicated  in  many  ways. 

In  the  published  history  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Frankfort,  Ky.,  reference  is  made  to  the  organization  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  Lawrenceburg,  Ky.  A  devout  man  who 
had  settled  in  the  community  realized  the  need  of  religious  in- 
fluence and  "arranged  for  a  four-days'  meeting,  beginning  May 
30,  1828.  The  ministers  present  were  Dr.  Thomas  Cleland, 
Reverends  Smith,  Forsythe  and  Moreland,  with  the  session  of 
the  Upper  Benson  church  in  the  neighborhood.  With  Mr.  More- 
land  as  moderator,  the  session  received  upon  examination  and 
profession  of  faith  a  number  of  persons.  A  deep  impression 
was  made  upon  the  large  audiences  in  attendance,  which  contin- 
ued and  deepened  until  twenty-five  persons  were  received  upon 
confession.  At  a  meeting  of  the  session  a  few  days  later 
twelve  more  persons  were  added."  Thus  the  spirit  of  leader- 
ship was  ever  forging  the  preacher  into  new  fields  of  activity. 

While  he  was  serving  as  pastor  of  the  Woodford  church, 


William  Henry  Wishaed  315 

near  Versailles,  Ky.,  a  call  came  from  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  of  Indianapolis,  which  had  been  organized  in  1823. 
Professor  Ebenezer  Sharpe,  one  of  his  teachers  in  Transyl- 
vania University,  and  Mr.  John  Brown,  both  of  whom  had 
been  elders  in  the  church  at  Paris,  were  members  of  the  First 
church  session,  and  when  the  young  congregation  needed  a 
pilot  to  steer  the  orthodox  bark  to  safe  waters,  these  old 
friends  turned  to  their  former  pastor.  Professor  Sharpe  oc- 
cupied the  chair  of  languages  in  Transylvania  University  from 
1810  to  1818,  going  from  there  to  Paris,  and  thence  to  In- 
dianapolis, where  he  opened  one  of  the  first  private  schools 
of  the  town. 

The  minutes  of  the  session  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church 
during  its  formative  period  are  still  preserved  and  make  inter- 
esting reading  for  those  who  venerate  its  early  struggles  to 
firmly  establish  itself  on  a  basis  of  evangelical  faith. 

Evidences  are  not  wanting  to  show  that  Doctor  Cleland's 
student  was  loyal  to  the  truth  as  he  had  unfolded  it  to  him. 
After  Grandfather  Moreland's  untimely  death  in  1832,  the  re- 
sult of  an  accident,  the  friends  who  knew  how  boldly  and  val- 
iantly he  had  stood  "fast  in  the  faith,"  and  defended  and  up- 
held the  truth  and  doctrines  as  they  had  been  revealed  to  him, 
requested  that  his  family  have  carved  on  the  stone  that  marked 
his  grave,  the  inscription,  "The  friend  of  God."  Like  Abra- 
ham of  old,  he  was  "friend  forever."  The  injury  which 
caused  his  death  was  due  to  the  falling  of  a  large  gate  post 
which  he  was  helping  to  remove  from  a  wagon  and  which 
slipped,  striking  him  so  violently  that  he  survived  only  a  short 
time. 

The  Presbyterian  churches  of  Indianapolis  may,  today,  l^e 
reaping  in  no  small  degree  the  results  of  the  wise  leadership 
and  the  fruits  of  the  good  seed  sown  by  that  devoted  and  un- 
wavering disciple  of  the  Lord  in  the  days  when  the  parent 


316  William  Henry  Wishard 

church  was  being  tested  by  teachings  that  might  have  carried 
it  adrift  had  it  not  been  safely  steered  and  anchored  on  firm 
foundations  by  the  loyalty  to  inspired  truth  by  its  pastor  and 
members. 

Doctor  Moore  made  careful  research  of  the  early  history  of 
the  Presbyterian  churches  throughout  the  Synod  of  Indiana, 
as  well  as  the  Indianapolis  Presbytery,  and  bears  frequent 
testimony  to  the  important  part  taken  by  Grandfather  More- 
land  in  promoting  the  kingdom  of  God  through  the  channels 
of  Presbyterianism.  The  call  from  the  First  church  was  ex- 
tended to  him  October  27,  1828,  and  he  arrived  in  Indianap- 
olis with  his  family  December  9,  the  same  year. 

The  First  church  of  Indianapolis  was  one  of  thirteen  that 
constituted  the  Presbytery  of  Crawfordsville  at  its  organiza- 
tion in  October,  1829,  that  church  having  previously  been 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Wabash  Presbytery,  which  at 
its  foundation  had  only  five  ministers  identified  with  it.  At 
the  meeting  of  Crawfordsville  Presbytery,  held  in  Indianap- 
olis March  25,  1830,  Grandfather  Moreland  was  installed  pas- 
tor of  the  entertaining  church.  The  Rev.  James  Thompson 
preached  the  installation  sermon;  Rev.  Samuel  Baldridge  pre- 
sided and  gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and  the  Rev.  S.  H. 
McNutt  gave  the  charge  to  the  congregation. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  held  in  Madison, 
October,  1830,  the  Presbytery  of  Indianapolis  was  organized, 
with  six  ministers  as  members.  Among  the  resolutions  per- 
taining to  that  new  body  is  the  following:  "Resolved,  That 
said  Presbytery  of  Indianapolis  be  directed  to  hold  its  first 
meeting  at  Greensburg  on  the  first  Thursday  in  April  next  at 
twelve  o'clock  m.,  and  that  the  Rev.  John  R.  Moreland  be  ap- 
pointed to  open  the  Presbytery  with  a  sermon  and  preside  un- 
til a  moderator  be  chosen."  Doctor  Moore  further  records 
that  "the  membership  of  the  church  at  Indianapolis  had  been 


William  Henry  Wishard  317 

increased  from  thirty  at  the  time  Mr.  Moreland  came  to  it,  to 
one  hundred  by  1830,  forty  having  been  received  upon  exam- 
ination." The  following  testimony  of  his  work  has  been  left 
in  Greene's  "History  of  the  First  Church" :  "By  the  blessings 
of  God  upon  his  energetic  labors  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit  the 
church  was  revived  and  strengthened.  It  was  during  his  min- 
istry that  James  Blake  and  James  M.  Ray,  co-workers  in  the 
vineyard  for  so  many  years,  united  with  the  church  by  a  pub- 
lic profession  of  faith."  The  population  of  Indianapolis  in 
1830  numbered  less  than  1,000  and  Marion  county  7,192. 

Grandfather  Moreland  was  born  in  1785  and,  according  to 
the  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  began  his  ministerial 
work  in  1813  when  twenty-eight  years  of  age. 

His  work  in  Indiana  began  before  he  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  in  Indianapolis.  Some  years  previous  to  that  time 
families  he  had  known  in  Bourbon  county,  Kentucky,  emi- 
grated to  Sand  Creek,  Decatur  county,  and  wishing  to  or- 
ganize a  church  sent  a  request  for  him  to  visit  their  neighbor- 
hood, which  he  did  in  1823,  and  the  Kingston  church  stands 
today  as  a  witness  to  his  energy  and  progressive  spirit.  The 
published  report  of  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  that 
church,  celebrated  in  1898,  gives  an  account  of  its  organiza- 
tion, following  a  sermon  by  the  visiting  clergyman,  and  adds : 
"Rev.  John  R.  Moreland,  who  organized  the  church,  was  a 
well-known  minister  in  Kentucky  and  is  still  dimly  remembered 
by  some  of  the  older  people  as  afterward  visiting  and  preach- 
ing to  the  church." 

The  minutes  of  the  Indianapolis  Presbytery  also  tell  of  the 
share  he  had  in  ministering  to  the  new  church  at  Franklin,  and 
in  the  organization  of  the  Hopewell  church,  located  a  few  miles 
west  of  Franklin,  a  country  church  that  has  a  history  equaled 
by  few  churches  anywhere,  in  city  or  town. 

In  the  historical  address  given  by  the  pastor  at  the  fiftieth  an- 


318  William  Henry  Wishard 

niversary  of  the  Hopewell  church,  in  speaking  of  the  action  of 
the  Presbytery  which  authorized  its  organization,  following  a 
request  signed  by  members  of  the  Franklin  church,  he  stated : 
"This  request  was  granted  and  Messrs.  Monfort  and  Moreland 
appointed  a  committee  to  organize  the  church  as  requested." 
The  description  the  pastor  gave  on  that  occasion  of  the  first  log 
church  in  which  that  congregation  worshiped,  shows  the  struc- 
ture to  be  typical  of  the  crude  but  unique  architecture  of  the 
frontier  communities.  "The  building,"  he  wrote,  "served  the 
double  purpose  of  church  and  schoolhouse,  being  built  of  hewed 
logs  twenty  by  thirty  feet  long,  and  was  probably  much  the 
best  house  in  the  neighborhood  at  the  time  it  was  built.  The 
pulpit  of  this  first  house  was,  according  to  the  style  of  that 
day,  a  square  frame  boarded  up  with  clapboards,  some  four  or 
five  feet  up  from  the  floor.  This  was  entered  by  a  stair- 
way of  several  steps.  This  pulpit  was  so  high,  and  the  ceiling 
so  low,  that  the  preacher's  head,  when  standing  up,  if  a  tall 
man,  was  in  quite  close  proximity  to  the  ceiling,  if  indeed  it 
did  not  get  in  the  way  of  it.  The  front  of  this  pulpit  was  so 
high  that  a  small  man  had  to  stand  on  a  box  to  enable  him  to 
deliver  his  message  over  it,  and  a  tall  man.  Rev.  John  R.  More- 
land,  getting  on  this  box  by  mistake,  in  the  heat  of  an  earnest 
exhortation,  is  remembered  to  have  found  his  head  sensibly 
in  the  way  of  the  ceiling.  High  pulpits  enclosed  breast  high, 
all  around,  was  the  order  of  the  day." 

Grandfather  Moreland  responded  to  calls  for  stated  preach- 
ing appointments  at  different  places  in  Marion  county  and  as  a 
result  of  his  efforts  the  nucleus  of  a  congregation  was  formed 
at  Acton.  Later  it  was  organized  into  what  is  now  the  South- 
port  church. 

The  last  time  the  name  of  the  indefatigable,  untiring 
preacher  who  had  "kept  the  faith"  and  proved  true  to  his  min- 
isterial vows  appears  on  the  official  records  of  the  courts  of 


William  Henry  Wishakd  319 

the  church  he  so  loyally  served,  is  in  the  minutes  of  the  In- 
diana Synod,  October  19,  1832,  when  the  following  item  ap- 
pears :  "The  Synod  then  solemnly  paused  to  record  the  death 
of  one  of  its  members,  the  Rev.  John  R.  Moreland,  who  was 
taken  from  this  world  of  trial  and  suffering  on  the  18th 
inst. ;"  the  godly  man  of  whom  a  parishoner,  Judge  Mills,  of 
Kentucky,  the  father  of  Rev.  Thornton  A.  Mills,  said,  "He 
came  nearer  being  an  apostolic  preacher  than  any  I  ever  heard ; 
he  preached  fearlessly,  but  not  vindictively,  and  his  appeals 
to  unrepentant  sinners  were  fervent."  The  number  of  boys 
who  bore  his  name  in  the  different  places  he  preached  silently 
testified  to  the  love  and  admiration  of  parents  for  their  pastor. 
Only  a  short  time  previous  to  his  death  he  had  resigned  from 
his  pastorate  in  Indianapolis  in  order  to  give  his  entire  time  to 
evangelistic  work.  He  belonged  to  that  class  of  pioneer 
preachers  who  have  been  described  as  coming  into  the  un- 
broken forest  with  the  axe  in  one  hand  and  the  Bible  in  the 
other. 

Among  the  family  heirlooms,  hallowed  by  the  associations 
of  those  cherished  days,  is  a  letter  dated  June  7,  1830,  written 
by  Grandfather  Moreland  when  he  was  in  Philadelphia  repre- 
senting the  Indianapolis  Presbytery  as  a  commissioner  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  It  was  ad- 
dressed to  his  wife,  and  is  a  quaint  and  pleasing  description 
of  his  oljservations  and  experiences  in  that  city  to  which  he 
had  traveled  all  the  way  by  horseback,  requiring  six  weeks 
time,  returning  the  same  way.  "I  have  seen  the  great  railroad 
and  the  Baltimore  and  Delaware  canal,"  he  wrote,  "but  I  must 
leave  the  task  of  describing  these  works  of  wonder  until  I  see 
you.  I  trust,  however  chimerical  it  may  seem  now,  that  the 
railroad  will  reach  Indianapolis  in  less  than  twenty  years.  In 
speaking  of  railroads,  there  is  no  danger  of  extravagance;  for 
the  half  has  never  been  told.     I  want  verv  much  to  see  all  the 


320  William  Henry  Wishard 

members  of  the  church.  I  love  the  order,  unity  and  peace  of 
our  Httle  church,  and  would  not  exchange  it  for  any  I  have 
seen  in  this  polite  and  elegant  city." 

Fascinating  must  have  been  the  stories  of  that  wonderful 
trip  to  the  ears  of  the  seven  children  who  gathered  around  the 
father  to  hear  of  all  he  had  seen,  for  he  was  no  less  devoted 
to  the  children  who  came  to  him  by  his  marriage  than  he  was 
to  his  own.  In  one  of  the  closing  sentences  of  the  letter  he 
added,  "My  heart  truly  rejoiced  when  I  read  that  my  dear 
Httle  Bettie  had  got  well."  That  same  "dear  little  Bettie,"  his 
stepdaughter,  though  at  that  time  a  married  woman,  was  to 
him  still  his  little  girl.  In  after  years,  when  writing  about  him, 
she  said,  "Fatherless  children  never  found  a  better  father  than 
he  was  to  us ;  there  was  never  any  difference  made  by  him  in 
favor  of  his  own  children." 

He  touchingly  expressed  his  confidence  and  implicit  trust 
in  his  wife,  when  in  his  will  he  stated,  "I  do  give  and  bequeath 
all  of  which  I  am  the  legal  or  equitable  owner,  whether  the 
same  be  real  or  personal  estate,  to  my  faithful,  prudent  and 
excellent  wife  Rachel,  in  full  property  without  condition  or 
limitation  forever,  after  my  lawful  debts  shall  have  been  paid." 
This  document,  which  was  drawn  and  signed  October  6,  1832, 
twelve  days  before  his  earthly  labors  were  finished,  had  a 
codicil  added  October  9,  which  read,  "It  is  my  will  that  no  ad- 
vertisement of  any  property  be  made  in  the  public  paper  or 
any  letter  of  administration  be  taken  to  administer  on  my  es- 
tate. My  beloved  wife  is  to  be  sole  trustee  and  manager  of  my 
estate  without  accountability  to  the  courts  of  our  country." 

In  his  historical  sketch  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Frank- 
lin, Judge  Banta,  when  referring  to  Grandfather  Moreland's 
participation  in  the  organization  of  that  church,  described  him 
as  "tall  and  commanding  in  his  person,  affectionate,  social, 
enthusiastic  and  eloquent." 


William  Henry  Wishard  321 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  connection  with  this  brief  ref- 
erence to  some  of  the  beginnings  of  Presbyterianism  in  Indi- 
ana, as  told  by  Doctor  Moore,  that  in  1814  the  Rev.  Samuel 
J.  Mills  and  the  Rev.  Daniel  Smith,  Presbyterian  ministers 
from  New  England,  visited  the  southern  part  of  the  state 
while  making  "a  journey  through  the  states  and  territories, 
preaching  and  organizing  Bible  and  benevolent  societies." 
While  on  their  way  to  New  Orleans  they  visited  St.  Louis, 
and  there  "preached  the  first  sermons  ever  heard  from  min- 
isters of  their  denomination  in  that  French  village." 

The  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills  was  one  of  the  band  of  five  ear- 
nest students  whose  zeal  for  foreign  missions  caused  them  to 
seek  the  shadow  of  a  large  haystack  for  prayer  and  confer- 
ence, and  whose  names  have  been  immortalized  on  the  Hay- 
stack Monument  that  commemorates  the  spot  where  they  thus 
assembled  in  1806  at  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Mass. 

It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Mills  that  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  organized,  as  well  as  the  Colonization  So- 
ciety, and  his  passion  for  propagating  the  gospel  eventuated 
in  his  going  to  Africa  as  one  of  the  two  first  missionaries  sent 
out  by  the  latter  society.  The  impetus  given  to  the  cause  of 
missions  in  Indiana  and  contiguous  territory,  not  yet  pre- 
empted by  churches,  in  the  days  the  Presbyterians  were  push- 
ing ahead,  gaining  a  foothold  by  the  aid  of  one  who  helped  to 
kindle  the  first  missionary  fires  that  have  spread  until  they 
are  now  burning  in  every  country  on  the  globe,  is  one  of  the 
many  influences,  far  removed  though  it  may  now  seem,  that 
proved  efficacious  in  giving  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  well 
as  other  denominations,  an  entering  wedge  in  the  days  when 
religious  advantages  were  few. 


A  REVOLUTIONARY  ROMANCE 

A  CHARMING  bit  of  romance,  that  had  its  setting  during 
the  revolutionary  war,  deserves  a  place  in  this  family 
chronicle.  Rachel  Moreland's  parents  had  gone  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Kentucky,  as  had  so  many  of  the  early  settlers  of 
the  latter  state,  following  that  period  in  which  her  father, 
Mark  McGohon,  Jr.,  and  his  father  fought  for  independence. 
Mark  McGohon,  Sr.,  had  come  to  America  from  Ireland,  pre- 
ceding the  international  hostilities,  to  seek  a  new  home  for  his 
family  which  he  had  left  in  the  old  country.  Before  he  had  es- 
tablished himself  sufficiently  to  warrant  his  return  for  his  wife 
and  children,  trouble  was  brewing  between  the  mother  coun- 
try and  the  colonies,  and  Mark  dared  not  risk  the  danger  of 
making  good  his  promise  to  return  for  them  lest  he  might  find 
it  difficult  to  come  back  to  the  home  of  his  adoption. 

Accordingly  he  sent  for  his  family,  entrusting  a  letter  of  ex- 
plicit directions  to  his  wife  to  the  care  of  the  captain  of  the  sail- 
ing vessel  upon  which  he  had  secured  passage  for  her  and  his 
son  and  two  daughters.  Following  the  vocation  of  a  shipbuilder, 
he  worked  cheerfully  on  with  a  light  heart,  hopefully  watching 
for  the  arrival  of  those  he  longed  to  see  and  for  whom  he 
labored.  There  was  no  stated  schedule  of  vo3^ages  for  sail- 
ing vessels,  though  at  best  it  required  several  months  to  make 
the  trip. 

After  waiting  due  length  of  time  and  the  ship  did  not  arrive 
in  port  he  grew  anxious;  a  year  passed  but  no  tidings  of  the 
ship  or  his  loved  ones  came  to  comfort  the  disappointed  hus- 
band. 

Concluding  that  the  vessel  was  lost,  depressed  and  heart- 
broken by  sorrow,  the  lonely  man,  unable  to  find  solace  amid 
his  surroundings,  decided  to  enlist  in  the  army  that  was  then 

322 


William  Henry  Wishard  323 

being  formed  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  colonists.  He  proved 
a  loyal  soldier  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  always 
grieving  over  the  irreparable  loss  of  his  family.  It  was  at 
Fort  Pitt,  where  the  remnants  of  several  regiments  had  been 
ordered  to  assemble,  not  long  before  they  were  discharged 
from  service,  that  Mark,  Sr.,  had  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of 
being  reunited  to  his  son.  While  strolling  around  the  head- 
quarters of  one  of  the  regiments  one  day,  he  heard  the  roll  call 
and  paused  to  listen. 

When  the  name  of  Mark  McGohon  was  spoken  his  attention 
was  instantly  riveted  to  that  spot.  Could  it  be  that  his  son  was 
the  one  who  had  responded  to  that  name?  He  knew  of  no 
kindred  in  the  old  country  bearing  the  same  Christian  name, 
and  a  great  hope  filled  him  wuth  confidence  to  believe  that  per- 
haps, after  all,  he  was  yet  to  meet  his  own  child  face  to  face. 
He  waited  with  all  the  patience  he  could  command  until  it  was 
permitted  him  to  seek  out  the  one  upon  whom  his  heart  and 
mind  were  then  centered  above  all  others.  In  response  to  his 
request  to  see  him,  he  was  confronted  by  a  young  man  who 
still  bore  evidence  of  an  injury  he  had  received  in  battle  and 
was  limping  as  he  approached  the  stranger.  Fearing  to  reveal 
his  identity  too  soon,  he  inquired  of  Mark,  Jr.,  the  place  of 
his  birth  and  when  he  came  to  America.  Looking  at  him  with 
an  intensity  born  of  recognition,  the  son  exclaimed,  "My 
father,  oh!  my  father!  have  I  found  you  at  last?"  The  sur- 
prise and  joy  of  both  can  only  be  imagined;  neither  was  able 
in  later  years  to  describe  the  scene  as  it  affected  him,  and  as 
it  was  related  to  children  and  grandchildren,  who  no  less  en- 
joyed repeating  the  story  to  their  children.  More  than  eight 
years  had  passed  since  Mark,  Sr.,  bade  his  family  good-by 
and  sailed  forth  to  establish  a  home  in  the  new  country.  Time 
and  the  exposures  of  army  life  had  made  their  impress  upon 
both  and  the  little  son  from  whom  the  father  had  been  sep- 


324  William  Henry  Wishard 

arated  so  long  before  was  now  a  man  with  his  own  history  of 
adventures. 

The  happy  meeting  was  turned  into  one  of  sorrow  for  Mark, 
St.,  as  he  Hstened  to  the  sad  story  of  the  fate  of  his  wife  and 
daughters.  His  inabihty  to  go  for  the  family  was  a  grievous 
disappointment  to  the  wife,  though  she  had  received  her  hus- 
band's letters  and  carefully  followed  his  instructions.  The 
captain  of  the  ship  deferred  sailing  because  of  the  growing 
enmity  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies,  and  when  fully 
embarked  the  mother  and  her  progeny  met  another  disappoint- 
ment, for  the  commanding  officer  had  changed  the  place  of 
landing.  Before  the  voyage  was  half  completed  the  anxious 
mother  had  sickened  and  died;  in  a  few  hours  the  younger 
daughter,  a  child  of  five  years,  had  succumbed  to  disease,  and 
both  were  buried  at  sea. 

The  brave-hearted  boy  of  fourteen  proved  a  manly  protector 
for  the  sister,  five  years  his  junior,  but  the  captain  of  the  sail- 
ing vessel  was  false  to  the  man  who  had  trusted  him  with  so 
precious  a  cargo.  He  permitted  the  children  to  land  without 
turning  over  to  them  the  letters  of  direction  which  their  mother 
carried  with  her,  as  well  as  the  money  which  Mark,  Jr.,  was 
confident  she  possessed,  but  was  too  ill  to  give  to  him.  Expect- 
ing their  father  to  greet  them,  the  children  eagerly  scanned  the 
faces  of  those  who  were  standing  at  the  wharf  when  they 
landed.  Not  seeing  him,  they  started  in  search  of  the  one 
they  knew  must  somewhere  be  waiting  for  them.  Weary  and 
worn  by  their  fruitless  efforts,  the  little  girl  began  crying, 
when  a  sympathetic  passerby  inquired  the  reason  of  her  dis- 
tress. Mark  made  full  explanations  to  him  and  concluded  by 
saying,  "Father  promised  to  meet  us  here  in  New  York,  but 
I  have  not  found  him,"  to  which  the  kind-hearted  gentleman 
replied,  "My  boy,  this  is  not  New  York;  it  is  Philadelphia, 
many  miles  from  New  York.     Come  with  me."     Suiting  the 


William  Henry  Wishaed  325 

action  to  the  word,  he  took  them  with  him  to  his  own  home, 
where  his  wife  received  them  with  the  same  kindly  impulses 
her  husband  had  shown.  Their  inviting,  well-appointed  home, 
occupied  by  themselves  and  servants,  for  they  had  no  children 
of  their  own,  gave  evidence  of  the  comforts  of  life  which  they 
enjoyed.  They  proved  to  be  loving,  benevolent  friends  and 
continued  the  search  for  the  father,  who  by  that  time  was 
seeking  a  change,  despondent  and  forlorn  over  his  inability  to 
get  any  information  about  his  family.  The  new  home  was  in- 
deed a  haven  of  rest  to  the  disheartened,  homesick  children, 
but  the  little  girl  was  not  long  spared  to  enjoy  it,  for  in  less 
than  a  year  she  had  gone  to  join  the  mother  and  sister  whose 
bodies  had  been  committed  to  the  deep  sea. 

Mark,  Jr.,  was  permitted  to  enlist  as  a  soldier  in  the  con- 
tinental army  when  only  sixteen  years  old.  After  he  had  been 
in  the  service  for  more  than  three  years,  his  regiment  was  or- 
dered to  move  to  a  point  farther  west  in  Pennsylvania  and  en- 
camped there  for  a  long  time.  Near  the  soldiers'  tents  dwelt 
a  farmer,  Andrew  Dunn,  whose  milk  house,  cooled  by  a 
spring,  was  always  open  and  its  contents  at  the  disposal  of  the 
defenders  of  liberty.  It  is  not  hard  to  believe  that  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  household  found  special  delight  in  making  that 
milk  house  a  spotless  object  of  attraction  to  the  young  men 
who  were  detailed  to  go  for  milk  to  supply  the  camp,  and  fam- 
ily history  records  that  Mark  was  a  faithful  messenger.  The 
second  daughter  of  the  household,  Elizabeth,  was  always  ready 
to  serve  him  with  the  best  the  tempting  spring  house  offered. 
At  last  the  order  came  for  the  regiment  to  move  still  farther 
west,  and  with  a  saddened  heart  Mark  went  on  his  daily  er- 
rand. He  told  Elizabeth  of  his  love  for  her  and  that  the  next 
day  he  would  have  to  go  with  his  regiijient ;  but  that  he  could 
not  leave  without  begging  her  promise  to  become  his  wife. 
The  gallant  young  soldier  went  marching  off  with  his  regi- 


326  William  Henry  Wishard 

ment,  cheered  by  the  acceptance  of  the  girl  he  had  won,  but 
spurred,  if  possible,  to  greater  devotion  to  the  cause  of  inde- 
pendence, for  Elizabeth  had  attached  one  condition  to  her 
promise :  he  must  return  to  her  with  an  honorable  discharge 
from  the  army.  That  he  made  good  that  requirement  is  shown 
by  the  following  notations  on  his  pension  papers,  now  on  file 
in  the  pension  department  in  Washington:  "Honorably  dis- 
charged from  Captain  Van  Swearingen's  company  at  Fort 
Pitt,  October,  1779,  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stephen  Bayard." 
In  1775  he  served  eight  months  in  a  company  of  rangers,  en- 
listed at  Hannastown,  Pa.,  in  Captain  Van  Swearingen's 
company,  Colonel  McCoy's  Eighth  Pennsylvania  regiment;  for 
three  years  on  the  Continental  Establishment.  He  also  served 
under  Colonel  Broadhead  and  was  part  of  the  time  under 
General  Wayne  "and  part  under  General  Mcintosh.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  battles  of  Boundbrook,  Brandy  wine  and  German- 
town  and  was  one  who  escaped  massacre  at  Paoli.  In  1786 
he  served  in  an  expedition  under  General  Clark  and  in  1790 
in  an  expedition  against  the  Miamis  under  General  Harmar. 
General  Harmar  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the 
United  States  army  in  1789.  In  September,  1790,  he  led  more 
than  one  thousand  volunteers  from  Fort  Washington,  now 
Cincinnati,  into  the  Indian  country  in  northern  Indiana  around 
the  headwaters  of  the  Maumee  (or  Miami,  the  former  being 
the  French  pronunciation)  to  overpower  the  Indians,  who, 
incited  by  British  officials  who  wished  to  control  the  fur  trade, 
were  still  making  war  on  the  frontier  settlements.  Under  the 
lead  of  Little  Turtle,  fifteen  hundred  warriors  defeated  Gen- 
eral Harmer  and  his  men,  but  four  years  later  were  over- 
powered by  General  Wayne.  In  1786  General  George  Rogers 
Clark  led  his  third  expedition  against  the  Indians  in  Kentucky, 
and  that  is  doubtless  the  one  in  which  Mark  participated. 
After  being  mustered  out  of  service,  and  with  the  evidence 


William  Henry  Wishard  327 

of  an  honorable  record,  Mark  started  for  the  site  of  the  old 
spring  house  about  which  had  clustered  his  dreams  of  hap- 
piness. There  were  no  stage  coaches  or  other  means  of  trans- 
portation in  those  days,  and  rather  than  wait  until  he  could 
provide  himself  with  a  horse  he  walked,  a  journey  of  several 
days,  only  to  find  that  the  Dunn  family  had  moved.  Ascer- 
taining their  new  location,  he  retraced  his  steps  westward  and 
found  Elizabeth  true  to  her  promise.  Mark  never  entirely  re- 
covered from  the  lameness  caused  by  an  injury  he  received  in 
battle. 

At  that  time  little  was  known  of  the  country  west  and  south- 
west of  Fort  Pitt,  now  Pittsburg.  A  few  daring  explorers 
had  returned  with  thrilling  accounts  of  the  marvelous  country 
they  had  discovered  on  either  side  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  a 
year  after  his  marriage  Mark  decided  he  would  try  his  for- 
tune in  that  land  which  had  been  pictured  by  those  who  had 
seen  it  as  a  veritable  Eden.  Finding  a  neighbor  who  shared 
his  fearless  spirit,  Mark  had  his  assistance  in  the  building  of 
a  keelboat  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  party  that  floated 
down  the  Ohio  river,  landing  above  the  falls  where  Louisville 
now  stands.  They  were  equipped  with  horses  and  pack  sad- 
dles, the  latter  an  essential  addition  to  a  pioneer  moving  out- 
fit. It  was  not  easy  for  Elizabeth  to  start  on  such  a  perilous 
undertaking  and  go  so  far  from  her  parents  and  family  of 
four  sisters  and  two  brothers.  To  comfort  her,  and  no  doubt 
gratify  his  own  desire  for  adventure,  William,  her  younger 
brother,  joined  the  party. 

There  were  good  reasons  why  Elizabeth  was  appre- 
hensive, for  not  only  had  she  been  an  eye-witness  to 
the  barbarity  and  cruelty  of  the  savage  Indians  about 
her  father's  home,  but  her  childish  sympathy  and  emo- 
tions had  been  stirred  by  the  harrowing  recitals  of  the  mas- 
sacring of  her  mother's  parents  and  brother  a  few  months 


328  William  Henry  Wishard 

after  Lydia  Mitchell's  marriage  to  Andrew  Dunn.  In  its  early- 
history  western  Pennsylvania  was  one  of  the  battle-grounds 
of  pioneers  and  Indians.  Elizabeth  knew  her  husband's  utter 
lack  of  fear,  and  though  he  had  passed  through  many  battles, 
he  still  retained  the  desire  that  animated  all  who  had  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  Indians  to  subdue  them.  She  knew  Mark's 
boldness  would  lead  him  into  dangerous  paths,  so  leaving  be- 
hind them  a  more  comfortable  civilization  they  forged  to  the 
frontier,  but  "pioneering  was  in  their  blood  and  in  their  tradi- 
tions." Early  in  his  life  in  Ireland  Mark  had  heard  the  lure 
of  the  west. 

After  leaving  the  boat,  which  had  safely  landed  them  on  the 
Kentucky  shore,  the  intrepid  young  explorers  forged  their  way 
into  the  interior  of  the  state,  but  soon  found  that  the  location 
they  had  chosen  was  too  near  for  safety  to  the  Indian  trail 
that  led  from  the  north  into  the  territory  south  of  them.  The 
Indians  were  treacherous  and  unwilling  that  their  hunting 
grounds  should  be  invaded  by  white  men.  Mark  and  one  of 
his  companions  started  out  to  explore  the  region  farther  south 
and  found  a  settlement  at  Fort  Harrod,  now  Harrodsburg, 
Ky.  Living  in  the  fort  were  three  or  four  families,  one  of 
them  being  the  family  of  Colonel  Harrod,  for  whom  the  for- 
mer town  is  named.  James  Harrod  is  known  in  history  as 
"the  first  man  to  build  a  log  cabin  in  Kentucky."  In  1773 
General  Thompson  from  Pennsylvania  descended  the  Ohio 
river,  surveying  the  rich  lands  of  Kentucky  adjacent  to  Lick- 
ing river.  A  year  later  other  surveyors  followed,  going  far- 
ther into  the  interior.  Up  to  that  time  there  were  no  families 
in  Kentucky,  but  in  that  year  James  Harrod  built  a  cabin.  He 
led  a  party  of  Monongahelans  to  that  locality.  Daniel  Boone 
occupied  the  fort  in  the  spring  of  1774  and  later  Harrod  was 
in  charge. 

It  was  fifteen  miles  to  the  nearest  settlement  and  the  occu- 


^  I 


« 


£W 


William  Henry  Wishakd  329 

pants  of  Fort  Harrod  were  exultant  at  the  prospect  of  having 
their  small  number  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  the  vigorous 
young  colonists  from  Pennsylvania,  which  received  a  jubilant 
welcome  upon  its  arrival.  Subject  to  attacks  by  the  Indians, 
it  meant  much  to  the  occupants  of  the  small  fort  to  have  an 
additional  squad  of  men  to  protect  their  possessions,  which  at 
best  were  not  numerous.  The  Indians  were  a  terror  to  them, 
for  they  were  not  only  seeking  for  scalps,  but  they  destroyed 
crops,  stole  horses  and  provisions  and  at  one  time  so  com- 
pletely robbed  the  settlement  of  meal  and  flour  that  for  three 
months  the  little  band  of  brave  settlers  was  without  bread. 

Tidings  of  their  exigencies  reached  Elizabeth's  old  home, 
and  her  father  despatched  flour  to  them  by  young  men  who 
were  going  down  the  river,  where  Mark  met  them  and  eagerly 
hastened  to  the  fort  with  the  long-desired  supplies.  Buffalo 
hams  and  venison  were  boiled  and  when  cold  the  lean  meat  was 
sliced  and  used  as  a  substitute  for  bread ;  when  warm  they  were 
served  as  meat.  Elizabeth's  first  baking  furnished  a  treat  to 
all  the  fort  inhabitants,  and  the  flour  which  was  distributed  to 
each  family  made  the  only  bread  they  had  until  the  next  crop 
of  corn  was  ready  to  grate. 

With  the  opening  of  spring  the  young  farmers  selected 
land  near  together  to  safeguard  their  lives  and  property. 
The  depredations  of  the  Indians  had  largely  ceased  dur- 
ing the  winter  and  spring,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
frontier  were  encouraged  and  growing  less  solicitous.  One 
June  morning  they  awoke  to  find  the  savages  had  in- 
vaded their  precincts  and  taken  five  of  the  seven  horses, 
which  had  been  left  out  during  the  night  to  graze,  that  be- 
longed to  the  fort  population.  Traces  of  the  Indians  were 
easily  found,  and  followed  by  a  detachment  of  men,  who  lost 
no  time  in  starting,  taking  with  them  the  two  remaining  horses 
and  a  good  supply  of  ammunition  to  defend  themselves  in  case 


330  William  Henry  Wishard 

of  an  attack  by  the  savages.  After  a  hurried  march  the  men 
reached  the  Ohio  river  opposite  where  New  Albany,  Ind.,  now 
stands.  On  a  stretch  of  level  land  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  the 
Indians  had  stopped  to  prepare  a  meal.  They  could  plainly  be 
seen  grouped  about  the  fire,  the  horses  near  by,  and  great  was 
their  glee  when  they  spied  their  pursuers,  to  whom  they  made 
many  signs  indicative  of  their  contempt. 

The  men  quietly  waited  for  a  couple  of  hours  until  they  saw 
the  Indians  were  preparing  to  move  on.  Elizabeth  had  brought 
with  her  to  Kentucky  a  beautiful  white  horse,  one  of  the  part- 
ing gifts  from  her  father  when  she  left  her  girlhood  home. 
Not  to  be  outwitted  by  the  wily  foes  of  the  forest,  Mark 
sought  an  advantageous  position  on  the  limb  of  a  large  tree 
which  had  fallen  near  the  bank,  and  in  a  loud  voice  cried  out 
"Cope  Nell,  cope  Nell,"  cope  being  an  abbreviated  word  mean- 
ing "come  up,"  and  one  that  has  long  been  used  in  corralling 
horses.  The  horse  instantly  recognized  the  call  by  raising  her 
head  in  an  attitude  of  listening.  Again  Mark  cried  out,  "Cope 
Nell,  cope  Nell,"  and  locating  her  master's  voice,  she  dashed 
into  the  water,  followed  by  the  other  horses,  and  all  were 
safely  landed  on  the  Kentucky  side.  A  sand  bar  extending 
far  out  into  the  river  made  it  easy  for  the  horses  to  ford  the 
river  for  a  considerable  distance,  thus  shortening  the  length 
they  had  to  swim.  The  Indians  endeavored  to  retain  their 
booty,  but  to  no  avail ;  the  horses  were  all  beyond  control  after 
Nell  broke  away.  By  many  signs  and  contortions  the  Indians 
gave  the  victors  to  understand  they  would  have  revenge.  Oc- 
casionally it  was  necessary  for  the  families  near  Fort  Harrod 
to  flee  to  it  for  protection,  but  after  that  triumph  they  were 
not  annoyed  as  frequently  as  were  those  in  adjacent  forts. 

The  Indians  had  doubtless  learned  that  the  Fort  Harrod  men 
were  not  easily  intimidated;  at  least  there  was  less  occasion 
for  anxiety  until  the  war  of  1812  brought  immunity  from 


William  Henry  Wishard  331 

danger  to  the  growing  community.  Mark  McGohon  died  in 
1848  at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety-three  years.  His  wife  died  in 
1822  and  their  family  of  seven  daughters  and  three  sons  Hved 
to  adult  age.  Mark,  St.,  never  came  west,  but  married  again 
and  lived  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died. 
The  annals  of  the  McGohon  family  are  not  traced  farther  back 
than  the  departure  of  Mark,  Sr.,  from  Ulster,  but  the  fact  that 
he  was  uncompromising  in  his  adherence  to  Protestantism  in- 
dicates, as  does  his  name,  that  he  was  of  Scottish  descent. 


INDEX 


Ackley,  Dr.  A.  A.,  224. 
Adams,  John  Quincy,  81. 
Alcorn,  Henry,  35. 
Alexander,  Colonel,  75,  269. 
Alexander  Second,  King,  12,  13. 
Allen,  Doctor,  83. 
Allison,  W.  D.,  127. 
Anne,  Queen,  15. 
Audubon,  309. 
Avery,  Dr.  John  P.,  263. 
Ayres,  Doctor,  270. 
Ayres,  Judge,  82. 

Baggs,  Mrs.  Frederick,  122. 

Baker.  Dr.  Moses,  64. 

Baldridge,  Rev.  Samuel,  316. 

Banta,  Judge,  320. 

Barnes,  Surgeon-General,  275. 

Bayard,  Lieut.-Col.  Stephen,  326. 

Beaton,  Cardinal,  14. 

Beauford,  Governor,  276. 

Beckas.  Caleb,  290. 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  79,  84. 

Beecher,  Dr.  Lyman,  84. 

Bell,  John,  261. 

Bigelow,  Doctor,  267. 

Bigger,  Samuel,  105. 

Bishop,  Doctor,  311. 

Bishop,  H.  H.,  178. 

Blackford,  Judge,  217. 

Blair,  Rev.  James,  20. 

Blake,  Col.  James,  54,  55,  317. 

Blake,  Mrs.  James,  54. 

Blythe,  D.  D.,  Rev.  James,  226,  310, 

311. 
Bobbs,   Dr.  John   S.,   151,   152,   162, 

224,  240,  245,  246,  249,  250,  263. 
Boone.  Daniel.  20.  328. 
Bray,  Dr.  M.  J.,  250. 
Brayton,  Dr.  A.  W.,  45,  145,  149, 

168. 
Brechin,  House  of,  13. 
Breckcnridge,  Doctor,  83. 
Brenton,  Joseph,  287. 
Brewer,  Sr.,  Daniel,  282. 
Brewer.  Garrett,  286,  292,  293. 
Brewer,  John,  286. 
Brinton,  Squire  Henry,  31. 
Brjstow,  Lieut.,  277. 


Broadhead,  Colonel,  326. 
Brower,  Dr.  J.  H.,  250,  270,  272. 
Brown,  Hiram,  33. 
Brown,  John,  315. 
Brown,  W.  J.,  107. 
Bruce,  Robert  the,  13. 
Buchanan,  Miss  Nelle,  174. 
Bullard,  Dr.  Talbott,  220,  222,  246. 
Bushnell,  Sr.,  Rev.  Horace,  81,  83. 
Bushnell,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Horace, 
81,  292,  303. 

Calhoun,  John  C,  81. 

Carson,  John  L.,  286. 

Carson,  Mrs.  John  L.,  288. 

Carter,  Robert,  83. 

Chafee,  William  T.,  127,  129,  180. 

Charlton,  Dr.  Frederick  R.,  163. 

Clark,  Mr.,  288. 

Clark,  George,  88. 

Clark,  Gen.  George  Rogers,  326. 

Clapp,  Dr.  A.,  246,  249. 

Clay,  Henry,  81,  88. 

Cleland,  Rev.  Philip  Sydney,  53,  80, 

291   292   294  303. 
Cleland,  Mrs.  Philip  Sydney,  289, 

292. 
Cleland,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Thomas,  42,  80, 

280,  281,  282,  294,  311,  312,  313, 

314,  315. 
Cleveland,  Grover,  81. 
Cleveland,  Rev.  Mr.,  81. 
Coe,  Dr.  Isaac,  215,  217. 
Collins,  Jerry.  33. 
Comingore,  Henry,  312. 
Comingore,  Mary,  289. 
Comingore,  Nancy,  289. 
Comingore,  Rachel,  290. 
Comingore,  Sarah,  288. 
Cool,  Dr.  Jonathan,  217. 
Cooper,  Sir  Astley,  257. 
Cornett,  Dr.  W.  T.  C,  241,  243,  246, 

249,  266. 
Courtney,  Jane,  65. 
Curran,  Doctor,  246. 

Davidson,  Doctor,  264. 

Davis,  Doctor,  270. 

Davis,  Mary  Moreland,  314. 


333 


334 


Index 


Davis,  Dr.  N.  S.,  109. 
Deming,  Dr.  E.  H.,  68,  250. 
Dickerson,  Rev.  Henry  L.,  302,  305. 
Dodds,  Dr.  W.  T.  S.,  154,  170,  171, 

172. 
Drake,  Dr.  Daniel,  226. 
Drenon,  Doctor,  220,  221. 
Dudley,  Dr.  Benjamin,  220,  226,  227, 

243,  258,  260. 
Dunbar,  309. 
Dungan,  Samuel  O.,  127. 
Dunlap,  Dr.  John  M.,  217. 
Dunlap,  Dr.  Livingston,  215,  216, 

217,  243,  245,  246. 
Dunn,  Rev.  Ambrose,  26,  292. 
Dunn,  Andrew,  325,  328. 
Dunn,  Lydia  Mitchell,  328. 
Dunn,  William,  327. 

Earp,  Dr.  S.  E.,  154. 
Eastman,  Doctor,  168. 
Eberly,  Dr.  John,  228. 
Eckles,  Angeline,  289. 
Eckles,  Samuel,  292. 
Edwards,  Dr.  Dell  Scott,  120. 
Edward  First,  King,  13. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  15. 
Elliott,  Doctor,  274,  275. 
Evans,  Sue  Courtney,  65,  66. 
Evarts,  Dr.  Orpheus,  64. 

Farquhar,  Dr.  Uriah,  246. 

Featherstone,  Doctor,  168. 

Fletcher,  Calvin,  42. 

Flint,  Doctor,  267. 

Florer,  Dr.  J.  W.,  240,  245,  246,  248, 

250. 
Fors3i:he,  Rev.  M.,  314. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  181. 
Fuller,  Samuel,  256. 
Fulton,  Robert,  308. 

Gaston,  Dr.  John  M.,  240,  248. 

George,  Mrs.,  278. 

Gibbon,  11. 

Gillespie,  Doctor,  270. 

Glenn,  Moses  F.,  27,  36. 

Glimpse,  Emanuel  G.,  35. 

Graham,  Doctor,  250. 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  76,  78,  169,  272, 

273   277. 
Grenfell,  Dr.  W.  T.,  123. 
Gresham,  Gen.  W.  Q.,  276. 
Guiscard,  Robert,  11,  12. 
Guthrie,  Capt.  William,  17. 


Haines,  D.  D.,  Rev.  M.  L.,  98,  128, 

132,  141,  187. 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  85,  87. 
Harrison,  William  Henry,  87,  103, 

312. 
Harrison,  Mrs.  William  Henry,  312, 

313 
Harding,  Sr.,  Dr.  M.  H.,  250. 
Harmar,  Gen.  Josiah,  326. 
Harrod,  Col.  James,  328. 
Hawley,  General,  278. 
Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  88. 
Heath,  Dr.  Frederic  C,  92,  94,  96, 

97,  145,  146,  168. 
Henderson,  Albert,  224. 
Henry,  The  Misses,  288. 
Henry  First,  King,  11. 
Henry  Third,  King,  12. 
Hendricks,  William,  104. 
Heron,  D.  D.,  Rev.  D.  A.,  204. 
Herriott,  Samuel,  105. 
Hill,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  290. 
Hodges,  Dr.  E.  F.,  150. 
Holliday,  Miss  Grettie  Y.,  121. 
Hunt,  Dr.  A.  M.,  245,  246. 
Hunter,  D.  D.,  Rev.  R.  V.,  303-306. 

Indiana  State  Medical  Society,  list 

of  charter  members  of,  247. 
Ivey,  Capt.  Wendel,  17. 

Jackson,  Doctor,  258. 

James  First,  King,  15. 

Jameson,  Dr.  P.  H.,  72,  11,  100,  108, 

109,  221,  240,  246,  248. 
Jenner,  258. 

Jennings,  Jonathan,  103,  146. 
Jennings,  Martha  Wishard,  26. 
Jones,  Doctor,  218. 
Johnson,  Dr.  Nathan,  245,  246. 
Judson,  Mrs.  Adoniram,  55. 

Keely,  Miss  Sarah  F.,  122. 
Kemper,  Dr.  G.  W.  H..  63,  95,  176. 
Kent,  Rev.  Eliphalet,  291. 
Kimberlin,  Dr.  A.  C,  95,  156. 
Knapp.  Dr.  Moses  L.,  64. 
Knox,  John,  14,  199. 
Koch,  182. 

Lane,  Doctor,  106. 

Lane,  Henry  S.,  88,  106. 

Larry,  Baron,  262. 

Learmont  of  Fife,  Elizabeth,  14. 


Index 


335 


Lee,  Dr.  D.  F..  161. 

Lilly,  Dr.  W.  H.,  218. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  84,  133,  169,  188, 

201,  249,  275. 
Little,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Charles,  121. 
Livingstone,  David,  199. 
Logan,  General  John  A.,  273. 
Logic,  House  of,  13. 
Lomax,  Dr.  William,  64,  251. 
Louis  Eleventh,  King,  14. 
Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  94. 
Lyle,  Rev.  John,  310. 

Madison,  James,  88,  115. 

Margaret,  Princess,  14. 

Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  258. 

Marshall,  John,  88. 

Marshall,  Thomas  R.,  107. 

Maxwell,  Dr.  Allison,  144. 

Mayo,  Dr.  W.  W.,  250. 

McCoy,  Colonel,  326. 

McCullough,  Dr.  J.  L.,  226. 

McDougle,  Dr.  Charles,  219. 

McDowell,  Dr.  Ephraim,  227,  243, 
260,  261,  262. 

McGohon,  Elizabeth  Dunn :  pledges 
her  love  to  her  future  husband, 
325 ;  but  adds  a  condition  to  her 
promise,  326;  leaves  her  old  home 
to  go  with  her  husband  to  the 
frontier ;  massacre  of  her  moth- 
er's parents  and  brother,  327 ;  her 
father  sends  provisions  down  the 
river,  329 ;  her  white  horse  and 
how  Mark  rescued  it,  330;  other 
reference,  309. 

McGohon,  Sr.,  Mark :  emigrates  to 
America,  322 ;  grief  over  loss  of 
wife  and  children ;  enlists  in 
army,  322 ;  reunion  with  son,  323 ; 
hears  sad  story  about  wife  and 
children,  324;   death,  331. 

McGohon,  Jr.,  Mark :  starts  for 
America  with  his  mother  and  sis- 
ters, 322 ;  meets  his  father,  323 ; 
tells  him  of  the  death  of  his 
mother  and  sister  at  sea;  lands  at 
Philadelphia;  finds  a  sympathetic 
friend,  324;  death  of  other  sister; 
enlists  as  a  soldier ;  his  romance, 
325;  war  record,  326;  returns  for 
his  bride;  moves  to  Kentucky, 
327;  locates  at  Fort  Harrod,  328; 


rescues  "Nell,"  329,  330 ;  children ; 
death,  331 ;  other  reference,  309. 

McGuire,  Elizabeth  Stagg,  8,  52,  313, 
320. 

Mcintosh,  General,  326. 

McNutt,  Rev.  S.  H..  316. 

Mears,  Dr.  Ewing,  222. 

Mears,  Dr.  George  W.,  162,  221,  223, 
246,  249,  263. 

Meeker,  Dr.  Daniel,  251. 

Merritt,  George,  157. 

Meyers  family,  18-20. 

Mills,  Judge,  319. 

Mills,  Rev.  Samuel  J.,  321. 

Mills,  Rev.  Thornton  A.,  319. 

Mitchell,  Dr.  S.  G.,  116,  213,  214, 
215,  216,  219,  220,  243. 

Monfort,  D.  D.,  Rev.  David,  318. 

Moore,  D.  D.,  Rev.  A.  Y.,  316,  321. 

Moreland,  Jennie  Dunn,  309. 

Moreland,  Rev.  John  Robertson : 
his  father  killed  by  the  Indians ; 
makes  a  trip  to  New  Orleans, 
307;  entertained  by  Indians,  307, 
308 ;  visits  relatives  in  Kentucky, 
309;  conversion  and  dedication  to 
the  ministry ;  attends  academy  and 
Transylvania  University;  old  re- 
ports, 310;  becomes  a  student  of 
theology,  311;  marriage,  313; 
children;  a  home  missionary,  314; 
called  to  Indiana ;  loyalty  to  his 
faith,  315;  installed  as  pastor; 
chosen  to  preach  opening  sermon 
at  first  meeting  of  Indianapolis 
Presbytery,  316;  testimony  of 
others  concerning  his  work;  his 
birth ;  first  visit  to  Indiana  to  or- 
ganize a  church ;  helped  to  or- 
ganize Hopewell  church,  317 ;  a 
pulpit  incident,  318;  death;  a 
cherished  letter,  319;  fatherly  de- 
votion ;  his  will ;  described  by  his- 
torian, 320;  other  references,  55, 
80,  202,  282. 

Moreland,  Luther  McCalla,  314. 

Moreland,  Mary  Ann,  314.    See 
Davis. 

Moreland,  Nancy  Logan,  314.  See 
Unthank. 

Moreland,  Rachel  McGohon :  early 
marriage ;  first  children,  313 ;  sec- 
ond marriage;  later  children,  314; 


336 


Index 


her  husband's  expression  of  con- 
fidence, 320;  her  ancestry,  322-331. 

Moreland,  William  Latta,  314. 

Morris,  Morris,  33,  34,  105. 

Morris,  Mrs.  Morris,  34. 

Morris,  Thomas  A.,  33,  105. 

Morton,  Doctor,  182,  264. 

Morton,  Oliver  P.,  75,  176,  188,  201, 
205,  269,  274,  275,  276,  277. 

Mothershead,  Dr.  John  L.,  214,  219, 
245,  246. 

Mott,  Dr.  Valentine,  259. 

Murphy,  Doctor,  250. 

Muzzy,  Dr.  Reuben,  70. 

Newcomer,  Dr.  F.  S.,  263. 

Newell,  Harriett,  55,  56. 

Nice,  Rev.  Benjamin,  83. 

Niles,  Judge  John  B.,  65. 

Noble,  Dr.  Benjamin  S.,  45,  46,  47, 

48,  62,  133,  147. 
Noble,  George,  25. 
Noble,  Margaret  Wishard,  26. 
Noble,  Noah,  25,  45,  105. 
Noble,  Sarah,  289. 
Noble,  Sr.,  Dr.  Thomas  B.,  70,  147, 

294. 
Noble,  Jr.,  Dr.  Thomas  B.,  147,  165. 
Norton,  Mrs.  C.  F.,  310. 

Oliver,  Dr.  D.  H.,  263. 
Oliver  family,  20. 
Oliver,  John,  20. 
Oliver,  Dr.  John  H.,  98. 
Oliver,  Martha  Henderson,  20. 
Overton,  Doctor,  226. 
Overstreet,  Jesse,  105. 

Palmer,  Doctor,  215. 

Parry,  Dr.  Charles,  220,  224,  246. 

Parker,  James,  287. 

Pasteur,  182. 

Patrick,  Rev.  Hilliary,  291. 

Pemberton,  General,  272. 

Penn,  William,  256,  259. 

Physick,  Doctor,  257,  258. 

Polk,  James  K.,  81. 

Pitarrow,  House  of,  11,  13,  14. 

Porter,  Commodore,  276. 

Potter,  Dr.  Theodore,  94,  95,  158, 

161,  168. 
Proctor,  Col.  John,  215. 
Ralston,  Samuel  M.,  103,  146. 


Rawlins,  Adjutant-General,  76,  271, 

273,  276. 
Ray,  James  Brown,  104. 
Ray,  James  M.,  317. 
Raymond,  Rev.  Charles  H.,  303. 
Reed,  Rev.  Archibald,  286. 
Richardson,  Doctor,  226. 
Richey,  Captain,  49,  50. 
Richey,  Dr.  James,  266. 
Richmond,  Dr.  Corydon,  222,  223. 
Richmond,  Dr.  John  L.,  222,  223,  224. 
Rogers,  Doctor,  226. 
Rogers,  Dr.  Charles,  14. 
Rogers,  Dr.  Dudley,  269. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  200. 
Ross,  Dr.  Henry,  218. 
Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,  257,  258. 
Rusk,  Doctor,  271. 
Russell,  Col.  Alexander,  214. 
Rust,  Doctor,  43. 
Ryan,  Dr.  T.,  245. 

Sanders,  Dr.  John  H.,  159,  160,  216, 

220,  240,  245. 
Scudder,  Caleb,  217. 
Scudder,  Doctor,  215,  217. 
Sharpe,  Ebenezer,  315. 
Shaver,    Rev.   Claude   R.,    126,    130, 

136,   143,   173,   175,   178,   179,   180, 

186,  191,  196. 
Simpson,  Sir  James  Y.,  182,  264. 
Skinner,  Ph.  D.,  Rev.  A.  C.  V.,  191, 

192. 
Smith,  Rev.  Mr.,  314. 
Smith,  Rev.  Daniel,  321. 
Smith,  May  Riley,  194,  195. 
Smith,  Dr.  Nathan,  261. 
Smith,  Oliver  H.,  55. 
Smock,  Ann,  288. 
Smock,  Cornelius,  286. 
Smock,  David,  286. 
Smock,  Elizabeth,  288. 
Smock,  James,  286. 
Smock,  John  B.,  286. 
Smock,  John  Q.,  286. 
Smock,  John  R.,  292. 
Smock,  Thomas  C,  286. 
Sorter,  Garrett,  292. 
Spooner,  Col.  Benjamin,  270. 
Stagg,  James,  313. 
Stagg,  John,  313. 
Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  201,  271. 
Steele,  T.  C,  97. 
Sterne,  Dr.  Albert  E.,  169,  171,  172. 


Index 


337 


Stephenson,  Judge,  83. 
Stilz,  J.  Edward,  127. 
Stone,  General,  273,  274,  275. 
Stuart,  Lady  Jane,  16. 
Sulgrove,  Berry,  55,  219. 
Sutton,  Doctor,  250. 

Tancrede,  de  Hauteville,  11. 
Taylor,  Dr.  William  H.,  145. 
Tecumseh,  115. 
Terhune,  Dr.  R.  W..  7i. 
Tennyson,  Lord,  194. 
Test,  Judge  Charles  H.,  84. 
Thompson,  General,  328. 
Thompson,  Rev.  James,  316. 
Thompson,  Richard  W.,  87,  88,  89. 
Thompson,  Dr.  W.  C.,  240. 
Todd,  "Parson."  23,  24,  40. 
Todd,  Robert,  287. 
Todd,  Mrs.  Robert,  288. 
Todd.  Dr.  R.  N..  263. 
Todd,  William,  287. 

Unthank,  Nancy  Moreland,  314. 

Van  Swearingen,  Captain,  326. 
Vinson,  Doctor,  270,  271. 
Vorheis,  Ann  Smock,  290. 

Wagner,  Charles,  200. 

Wallace,  Dr.  C,  245. 

Wallace,  David,  106,  107. 

Ware,  Doctor,  267. 

Warren,  Dr.  John  C,  260. 

Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  260. 

Waterhouse,  Doctor,  258. 

Waterman,  Dr.  L.  D.,  150,  153. 

Wayne,  General,  326. 

Webster,  Daniel,  10,  81. 

Weed,  Doctor,  288. 

Whitcomb,  James,  105. 

Whitefield,  Rev.  George,  288. 

Whittier,  Mrs.  David  L.,  296. 

Wiest,  Dr.  J.  R.,  278. 

Willard,  A.  P.,  106. 

William  First,  The  Conqueror,   12, 

199. 
Williams,  "Blue  Jeans,"  85. 
Wilson,  Dr.  A.  L.,  162. 
Wischard,  Hugh,  12. 
Wischard,  John,  12. 
Wischard,  William.  12. 
Wishard.  Abram,  16. 
Wishard,  Abram,  17. 


Wishard,  Agnes  Jane,  26. 

Wishard,  Agnes  Oliver :  birth ;  par- 
entage ;  marriage,  20 ;  character- 
istics and  sketch  by  son,  20-22 ; 
death ;  children,  26 ;  other  refer- 
ences, 45,  111,  123,  298. 

Wishard,  Albert  Willard,  31,  70. 

Wishard,  Andrew,  17,  27. 

Wishard,  Andrew,  26. 

Wishard,  Annis.  16. 

Wishard,  Elizabeth,  17. 

W^ishard.  Elizabeth  Furlow,  17. 

Wishard,  EHzabeth  Moreland,  70, 
170. 

Wishard,  Ellis,  17. 

Wishard,  George  Whitefield,  38,  70, 
83. 

Wishard,  Harriet  Jane,  70,  170. 

Wishard,  Harriet  Newell:  first 
meeting  with  her  future  husband, 
51 ;  made  his  wedding  waistcoat, 
52 ;  marriage,  53 ;  the  wedding 
journey;  Blake  home,  54;  her  na- 
tivity; named  for  a  missionary, 
55 ;  hurried  horseliack  ride  from 
Kentucky;  a  modest  home,  56; 
her  home-making  proclivities,  57, 
58 ;  griests  at  first  meal ;  charac- 
teristics, 58 ;  a  daughter-in-law's 
tribute;  outside  ministrations,  59; 
patience  and  fortitude,  59,  60; 
testimony  of  others,  60;  a  unit 
with  her  husband ;  exalted  his  po- 
sition in  the  church,  60,  61 ;  what 
a  pastor  said  about  her,  61 ;  went 
with  her  husband  to  Kentucky, 
65;  a  winter  in  Cincinnati,  70; 
entrance  into  her  husband's  fam- 
ily described  by  his  brother,  297- 
299;  ancestry,  307-331;  other  ref- 
erences, 9,  32,  154,  202,  204,  205, 
296-306. 

Wishard,  Henry,  17. 

Wishard,  James,  17. 

Wishard,  James  Harvey,  26,  30. 

Wishard,  Jane,  17. 

Wishard,  John  :  ancestry,  11-18; 
birth  and  removal  to  Kentucky ; 
marriage,  20 ;  moved  to  Indiana ; 
united  with  church,  21  ;  service  in 
Black  Hawk  war,  23 ;  sense  of 
humor;  filial  devotion;  character- 
istics, 24;  accident  in  early  life, 
24,  25 ;  resistance  to  surgery,  25 ; 


338 


Index 


tribute  from  an  old  neighbor,  25, 
26;  death;  children,  26;  reasons 
for  moving  to  Indiana ;  purchase 
of  land,  27 ;  aided  a  poor  doctor, 
43 ;  his  proverbial  latch-string, 
54;  a  new  house,  62;  other  ref- 
erences, 17,  27,  35,  36,  44,  45,  55, 
65,  105,  108,  298,  309. 

Wishard,  John  Moreland,  62,  123, 
299. 

Wishard,  John  Oliver,  26,  68,  70,  91, 
298. 

Wishard,  Joseph,  17. 

Wishard,  Joseph  Milton,  26. 

Wishard,  Luther  D.,  198. 

Wishard,  Mannis,  16. 

Wishard,  Margaret  Ann,  26.    See 
Noble. 

Wishard,  Margaret  Oliver,  20. 

Wishard,  Martha,  26.    See  Jennings. 

Wishard,  Martha,  62,  123. 

Wishard,  Mary  Ellis,  62,  66,  70,  123. 

Wishard,  Nancy,  17. 

Wishard,  Rachel  Agnes,  62,  63,  123, 
299. 

Wishard,  Robert  Courtney,  17. 

Wishard,  Robert  Courtney,  26. 

Wishard,  Samuel,  16,  20. 

Wishard,  Samuel  Ellis,  22,  26,  45, 
57,  115,  192,  296-301. 

Wishard,  Susannah  Lytle  :  marriage ; 
ancestry ;  emigration  to  America, 
16;  children,  16,  17;  removal  to 
Kentucky  and  death,  17. 

Wishard,  Susannah,  17. 

Wishard,  Thomas,  26. 

Wishard,  William :  birth;  emigra- 
tion from  Scotland  to  Ireland,  11 ; 
ancestry,  11-16;  marriage;  emi- 
gration to  America;  brothers,  16; 
children,  16,  17;  service  in  Revo- 
lutionary war ;  change  of  resi- 
dence to  Kentucky ;  death  of  wife  ; 
second  marriage ;  death,  17 ;  op- 
portunities and  convictions ;  pur- 
chase of  land  and  complications 
that  caused  change  in  spelling  of 
his  name,  18 ;  recognized  by  one 
whom  he  had  befriended,  18,  19; 
log  cabin  in  Kentucky,  28;  113. 

Wishard,  Jr.,  William,  16,  309. 

Wishard,  William  Henry:  his  fore- 
fathers, 11-26;  goes  to  his  birth- 
place, 19 ;  marriage  of  his  parents, 


20;  as  a  lad  visits  Kentucky,  24; 
his  brothers  and  sisters,  26;  birth 
and  removal  to  Indiana,  27 ;  hard 
work  and  limited  educational  op- 
portunities, 28 ;  social  and  econom- 
ical conditions,  28-32 ;  the  first 
wedding  he  attended,  31 ;  first  trip 
to  Indianapolis  and  newspaper  in- 
terview describing  the  town,  32- 
34 ;  interview  describing  early  lo- 
cation and  schools,  34,  35 ;  initia- 
tive and  thwarting  plans  of  two 
men ;  a  midnight  ride,  35-38 ;  first 
remembrance  of  Kentucky  home; 
his  first  loss,  38 ;  lighting  first 
camp  fires,  39 ;  going  to  mill ; 
pursued  by  wolves ;  a  treasured 
letter,  40 ;  early  preachers,  41,  42 ; 
his  ambition  and  choice  of  pro- 
fession, 43-45 ;  his  preceptor  and 
equipment  for  study,  45,  46;  pro- 
fessional territory  and  ability  to 
surmount  obstacles ;  a  member  of 
Doctor  Noble's  family;  expenses, 
46,  47;  how  he  combined  the 
theoretical  and  practical,  47,  48 ; 
formed  partnership ;  change  of 
location,  48 ;  strenuous  experi- 
ences in  new  field,  49,  50 ;  first 
meeting  with  the  girl  he  mar- 
ried, 51;  brief  engagement,  52; 
his  advice  to  those  contemplating 
matrimony;  the  wedding  and  in- 
f are,  53 ;  the  wedding  trip ;  re- 
spect shown  to  his  wife's  guard- 
ian, 54 ;  moved  to  Waverly  and 
began  housekeeping,  56;  a  broth- 
er's testimony;  a  happy  home, 
57 ;  cost  of  first  china  and  kitchen 
utensils,  58 ;  with  his  wife  he  ex- 
emplified his  convictions  in  his 
home,  60;  occupies  his  father's 
old  home;  birth  of  first  child; 
returns  to  Greenwood ;  birth  of 
three  daughters,  62 ;  death  of  Ag- 
nes ;  goes  to  medical  college  at 
Cincinnati ;  afterward  attends 
Medical  College  of  Indiana  at  La 
Porte ;  graduates  in  class  of  1849, 
63 ;  becomes  charter  member  of 
Indiana  State  Medical  Society; 
correspondence  with  a  cousin, 
Sue  Courtney  Evans,  65 ;  letters 
to   his   wife   while   in   La    Porte, 


Index 


339 


66-69;  returns  to  Medical  College 
of  Ohio;  death  of  Mary;  birth 
of  other  children ;  trip  to  Pitts- 
burg, 70;  first  experience  in  ad- 
ministering an  anesthetic,  70-72 ; 
with  Doctor  Jameson,  operates 
upon  boy  without  anesthetic,  72, 
73 ;  incident  related  by  Doctor 
Terhune,  73,  74;  his  patriotism, 
74;  admiration  for  Governor 
Morton ;  letters  from  the  battle- 
fields to  his  wife  describing  some 
of  his  experiences,  75,  76;  enters 
Vicksburg  after  surrender; 
greeted  by  confederate  soldier; 
souvenir  copy  of  Vicksburg  Daily 
Citizen,  printed  on  wall  paper, 
77 ;  unites  with  the  church,  78 ; 
begins  his  church  activities  and  is 
elected  an  elder,  78-80 ;  his  affec- 
tion for  his  first  pastor;  appoint- 
ment as  commissioner  to  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  his  church ;  first 
trip  east,  80;  trip  described,  80, 
81 ;  later  appointments  as  a  com- 
missioner, 82,  83 ;  a  passenger  on 
first  train  that  entered  Indianap- 
olis, 83;  removal  to  Southport; 
political  affiliations ;  becomes  a 
candidate,  85 ;  received  nomina- 
tion, 86;  reports  of  convention, 
86,  87 ;  re-elected  for  second  term ; 
member  of  Tippecanoe  Club ;  his 
admiration  for  the  Hon.  R.  W. 
Thompson,  87  ;  the  eulogy  he  paid 
him,  88,  89;  his  views  about  old 
age;  reluctance  to  forego  night 
work,  91 ;  last  obstetrical  case ; 
relinquishment  of  downtown  of- 
fice ;  celebration  of  eighty-ninth 
birthday  by  Indianapolis  Medical 
Society;  verse  by  Doctor  Heath, 
92;  comments  in  bulletin  of  so- 
ciety, 93,  94 ;  copy  of  parchment 
scroll  presented  to  him  by  Indian- 
apolis Medical  Society,  94 ;  last 
meeting  of  the  society  he  at- 
tended, 95 ;  resolutions  of  con- 
gratulation passed  by  local  so- 
ciety and  state  association  coun- 
cil, 95,  96;  welcomed  the  Indiana 
State  Association  at  its  annual 
meeting  in  1910;  telegram  sent 
by    the    association    in    1913,    96; 


Doctor  Heath,  on  behalf  of  fam- 
ily, presented  oil  portrait  to  In- 
dianapolis Medical  Society,  96- 
98 ;  accepted  by  Doctor  Oliver, 
98;  "went  to  church"  by  tele- 
phone, 98;  his  observance  of  the 
Sabbath;  his  G.  A.  R.  post,  99; 
a  joke  he  enjoyed;  old  settlers' 
meetings,  100 ;  the  prize  he  won, 
101 ;  accidents  and  illness  that 
demonstrated  his  unusual  recu- 
perative powers,  101,  102 ;  his  in- 
terest in  life,  102 ;  attendance 
upon  "homecoming  day"  at 
Southport  Presbyterian  church, 
102,  103 ;  reminiscences  of  Indi- 
ana governors,  103-107 ;  letter 
from  one  of  them,  107 ;  a  noc- 
turnal meeting  with  Doctor  Jame- 
son, 108;  his  desire  to  "grow  old 
contentedly,"  109;  sustained  in- 
terest in  current  events,  110;  deep 
religious  nature,  110,  111;  impress 
of  his  mother's  spiritual  life 
upon  him.  111;  early  religious  in- 
fluence upon  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters;  free  from  any  selfish  trait; 
honored  his  ancestry,  112;  inter- 
est in  young  people ;  originality, 
113;  impression  made  upon  a 
stranger,  113,  114;  attributes; 
physical  vigor ;  social  and  grate- 
ful nature ;  free  from  animosity, 
114;  remarkable  memory;  some 
of  the  developments  he  wit- 
nessed; his  length  of  life;  news- 
paper interview  giving  his  rea- 
sons for  longevity,  115;  his  last 
days  and  an  interpretation  of 
their  serenity,  116;  how  he  was 
estimated  by  friends  and  rela- 
tives, 116-122;  extracts  from 
Journal  of  the  Indiana  State 
Medical  Association,  122,  123  ;  his 
hope  of  the  future ;  memories  of 
his  absent  loved  ones,  123 ;  the 
family  altar,  123 ;  his  last  prayer, 
124 ;  the  final  triumph ;  his  en- 
during influence,  125. 

Appreciations  of — by 

Brayton,  Dr.  A.  W.,  168. 
Bishop,  H.  H.,  178. 
Ciiafce,  VV.  T.,  180. 


340 


Index 


Charlton,  Dr.  F.  R.,  163. 

Davis,  Dr.  N.  S.,  109. 

Dodds,  Dr.  W.  T.  S.,  154. 

Earp,  Dr.  S.  E.,  154. 

Edwards,  Dr.  Dell  S.,  120. 

Haines,  D.  D.,  Rev.  M.  L.,  132, 
187. 

Heath,  Dr.  F.  C,  92,  97,  146. 

Heron,  D.  D.,  Rev.  D.  A.,  204. 

Hodges,  Dr.  E.  R,  ISO. 

HolHday,  Miss  Grettie  Y.,  121.  _ 

Indiana  State  Medical  Associa- 
tion, Journal  of,  122. 

Indianapolis  Medical  Society, 
Bulletin  of,  93. 

Jameson,  Dr.  P.  H.,  108. 

Kemper,  Dr.  G.  W.  H.,  176. 

Kimberlin,  Dr.  A.  C.,  156. 

Lee,  Dr.  D.  F.,  161. 

Little,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Charles,  121. 

Maxwell,  Dr.  Allison,   144. 

Potter,  Dr.  Theodore,  158. 

Shaver,  Rev.  C.  R.,  136,  175. 

Skinner,  Ph.  D.,  Rev.  A.  C.  V., 
192. 

Sterne,  Dr.  A.  E.,  169. 

Waterman,  Dr.  L.  D.,  150. 

Wishard,  Luther  D.,  198. 

Wilson,  Dr.  A.  L.,  162. 

Woolen,  Dr.  G.  V.,  151. 

Wynn,  Dr.  F.  E.,  165,  181. 

Other  friends  and  relatives,  116- 
122. 

Editorials — 

Indiana    State    Medical    Associa- 
tion, Journal  of,  211. 
News,  The  Indianapolis,  209. 
Star,  The  Indianapolis,  208. 
Sun,  Vincennes,  210. 


Parchment  scroll,  94. 

Resolutions — 

Indianapolis  Medical  Society,  95, 
171. 

Indiana  State  Medical  Associa- 
tion, Council  of,  95. 

Seventh  Presbyterian  Church, 
Session  of,  176. 

Wishard.  William  Niles,  25,  70,  126, 
145,  154,  167,  168,  170,  176,  296, 
301,  303. 

Wishart,  Adam,  13. 

Wishart,  James,  14. 

Wishart,  James,  16. 

Wishart,  Sir  John,  13. 

Wishart,  Sir  John,  Second  of  Pit- 
arrow,  13. 

Wishart,  Sir  John,  15. 

Wishart,  George,  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh,  13. 

Wishart,  George,  the  martyr,  14,  15, 
199. 

Wishart,  Robert,  Bishop  of  Glas- 
gow, 13,  199. 

Wishart,  WiUiani,  Chancellor  of 
Scotland,  13. 

Woodburn,  Dr.  J.  H.,  87. 

Woods,  Nancy  Jane,  288. 

Woods,  Rev.  W.  W.,  290. 

Woolen,  Dr.  G.  V.,  151,  161,  171, 
172. 

Wright,  Joseph  A.,  106. 

Wychard,  John,  12. 

Wychard,  Nicholas,  12. 

Wynn,  Dr.  F.  E.,  165,  170,  180,  181. 
187. 

Wyschard,  Baldwin,  12. 

Yandell,  Dr.  L.  P.,  235,  236. 


